LONDON: Globally renowned for the industry-leading power density of its electric motors, UK-based Helix has produced its most powerful pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) motor called X-Division SPX177.
Weighing only 28kg and capable of delivering 650kW of continuous power, the SPX177 was developed for a hypercar motor project known internally as REB.
Describing the project, Derek Jordanou-Bailey, chief engineer at Helix, says: “It uses the ‘top end’ in materials and reaches back into our motorsport heritage. For REB, the focus was on ultimate performance. In those terms, it is like an F1 or Formula E unit."
Jordanou-Bailey confirms a single motor delivering 650kW continuous will be installed in the unidentified hypercar.
Thinking back to the origins of the REB project and how it resulted in a product that was ultimately tested and shipped to the customer, Jordanou-Bailey recalls: “The customer told us what peak power they wanted and demanded a very high steady-state output. Right now, it is tricky to deliver sufficient energy to maintain that level of output, but in time it is likely to be possible and the customer wanted to ensure their flagship model was ready for that.
“We needed an architecture that minimises losses and the heat generated, especially at high-speed, and that meant quite a change in the way the motor was wound, since minimising resistance losses results in a very low inductance machine. The switching in the inverter can generate lots of noise and harmonics and this is more challenging with a low inductance motor. The software team did a great job developing a new way of controlling the phase currents in the motor.”
Helix is supporting the customer’s integration of the power unit into the vehicle.
“Then there’ll be liaison with their software team, but since the motor and inverter are already paired, we expect it to largely be plug and play,” Jordanou-Bailey concludes.
