An AVID Fan Of Electric

BY IAN CAMERON

Having secured numerous orders for its electric motors, a United Kingdom-based company is examining new applications for its product.

Automotive cleantech firm AVID Technology, based in Cramlington, Northumberland, England, has begun shipping its EVO electric motors.
Since the start of the year, AVID said it has experienced an increase in demand for the EVO, winning more than £50 million (approximately US$70 million) in new business for the motors with exports to Germany, Poland, Spain, USA and Asia already in the pipeline for 2018.

The motors are destined for use in on- and off-highway heavy duty and high-performance vehicles although the company said alternative applications are being explored such as actuation and propulsion systems for robotics and aerospace.

AVID took over the design, manufacture and distribution of the EVO electric motors from GKN Hybrid Power last year and transferred production to its plant in Cramlington.

According to AVID, the motors have one of the highest power and torque densities of any electric vehicle drive motor available on the market, which, it claimed, makes them suitable for a range of high-performance drivetrain applications.

AVID said there are several different EVO configurations claiming it is a flexible machine technology. It is capable of up to 10 kW/kg of power output and 20 Nm/kg torque density, the company said, partly due to its carbon fiber composition rotor construction.

Ryan Maughan, AVID’s managing director, said: “The last 12 months have been tremendously exciting in terms of sales growth through a variety of new opportunities. We are proud to be working with some of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturers in the world to design and deliver their electric and hybrid vehicles of the future.

“After securing the licence with GKN in 2017 we invested over £4 million (US$5.7 million) to expand our production and testing facilities. This investment has increased our manufacturing capabilities to enable us to meet the rising demand we’re seeing in our primary commercial and passenger vehicle markets. It also means we can continue to diversify and exploit new opportunities in emerging sectors.”

AVID said it has been advocating vehicle electrification to improve air quality for 12 years. The company was also selected to work on a £20 million (US$27.8 million) U.K. government-funded clean-tech environmental project in 2017 aimed at increasing the number of hybrid vans and lorries on UK roads to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality.