Hybrid Winding Traction Drive Unit for Sustainable Electric Mobility

Objective

Objective. Develop and validate a compact, high-efficiency electric drive unit (EDU) for battery-electric vehicles that delivers higher continuous power, lower losses and can be manufactured at scale in Europe. The project addresses today’s main bottlenecks: copper AC loss in hairpin windings, thermal hot spots, and control strategies that optimise the inverter and motor separately. How it will be achieved. Five coordinated work packages will deliver: (1) a hybrid hairpin–Litz winding produced with continuous wave winding and additively manufactured joints to keep a high slot fill while cutting high-frequency loss; (2) direct oil cooling of both stator end windings and rotor to remove heat uniformly and raise continuous power; (3) a multiphysics co-design framework linking electromagnetic, thermal, mechanical and fluid models with explicit design-for-manufacture rules; (4) co-optimisation of a silicon-carbide inverter and the machine using hybrid PWM and variable switching frequency, verified on a hardware-in-the-loop bench; and (5) system integration and testing of a full-scale prototype under realistic drive cycles. Open science practices include a data-management plan, open models and code, and early dissemination. Relevance to the Work Programme. The fellowship supports the European Green Deal and Fit for 55 by improving EV efficiency and affordability and by strengthening Europe’s industrial base. Expected outcomes are a validated EDU prototype and an open toolchain (models, data and software) that enable up to 10% lower vehicle energy use, a 10–15% reduction in EDU manufacturing cost and higher production efficiency. The project will generate exploitable intellectual property, high-quality publications and targeted training, advancing skills and competitiveness in European electromobility.