[baydreamer]

"The company has announced significant investments to “allow for the in-house design and development of electric motors for the next generation of Volvo models”. The Geely-owned firm today opened a brand new electric motor lab in Shanghai, China, the latest addition to its global network of facilities for EV components development and testing."
https://www.carscoops.com/2020/11/v...-motors-in-house-for-its-next-generation-evs/

 

[Tostik]

"The new lab is in addition to ongoing e-motor development in Gothenburg, Sweden and battery labs in China and Sweden."

Just to be clear, there will be E-motor development in Sweden and China, and battery labs in Sweden and China too.

 

[baydreamer]

I'm glad that I'm in no rush to buy another car (my 2012 S60 only has a bit over 61,000 miles and has been impeccable). Battery technology (and autonomous driving technology) is in its infancy, so I want to wait until they mature a bit.

 

[FusionRedXC60]

E motor is much simpler than ICE and I hope with their own R&D team they can build motors with slightly different power to fit in high and low end models. Also the power control module is really the key. Hope they build robust and efficient stuff that is better than the off shelf ones in market.

Sent from my Z978 using Tapatalk

 

[pbierre]

Electric motor propulsion ought to be thought about as having a great future that outlives battery-power. Volvo is looking at a modular design where batteries (heavy, expensive, toxic, rare metals) will be replaced by H2 Fuel Cells. This could appear as early as 2027. So the e-motors and power-regulators are a safe investment going forward, and will contribute to vehicle longevity and reliability when batteries become replaceable.

Volvo Trucks gives Volvo a competitive edge, since these new FCEV propulsion systems will be cost effective in trucking earlier than for small vehicles. Battery weight is a strike against Tesla battery-power trucking. Tesla will join the FCEV revolution, too.

 

[likeXC90]

Perfect timing: mid-2020's start of e-motor production plus a few years of iteration and optimization, so by late 2020's / 2030 Volvo has "perfected / stabilized" their e-motor + (by then) battery range extended + charger network expansion = time to turn in my MY2019T8 - but only if it's dying

 

[baydreamer]

Here's something I'm wondering. I occasionally read of breakthroughs with solid state technology, including this week (www.wired.com/story/quantumscape-solid-state-battery). There are battery companies that have car manufacturers like VW, BMW, Hyundai, etc., backing them. Assuming solid state becomes a reality, will Volvo have access to it if they're just working on their own and not backing anyone? I'd love to own an electric Volvo or Polestar down the road, but if solid state is everything it's claimed to be, it would be tough for me to stay loyal to Volvo.

 

[FusionRedXC60]

When battery factories can make those improved batteries, eg not locked out by patents, you bet every car maker will use it.

 

[likeXC90]

There are battery companies that have car manufacturers like VW, BMW, Hyundai, etc., backing them. Assuming solid state becomes a reality, will Volvo have access to it if they're just working on their own and not backing anyone?

Of course! It's just a matter of who gets it first or later, cheap or expensive. Production capacity (or poor forecasting) is typically a limiting factor. These companies will not say no to a potential sale unless they don't have product available. It's so early right now for solid state batteries I wouldn't be worried.
Like the article said, doing the engineering to scale up for mass production is a huge challenge and typically D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-S the dreams of lab top successes and marketing BS.
It's kinda sad to sit in presentations of some of these startup companies and hear of grandiose promises, work with them for months and years to try and make the dream a reality, then at the (failing) end of it realize all that effort was fruitless and the marketing overhyped. Me? No, I'm not bitter
But it would be great to somehow retrofit these highly dense batteries into our SPA T8 battery space - one can only dream!