BCN eMotorsport: high speed and power electronics

At Premium PSU, we love vertigo and high-speed racing. But above all, we are passionate about the technology that drives the vehicles roaring around the track. This passion for top-level technology has led us to become a Gold sponsor of BCN eMotorsport.

BCN eMotorsport, is a Formula Student team from Barcelona that designs, manufactures and tests Formula 1 type racing cars that go into renowned international competitions. The new alliance opens Premium’s doors to this very talented team of undergraduate engineers from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), who will have the opportunity to carry out the demanding testing phase within our facilities.

In Germany, BCN eMotorsport will seek to conquer in the autonomous and electric category; in Austria, they will compete with its electric vehicle; they will travel to the Czech Republic as a Top 3 team; while they also will be present on the national tracks at the Montmeló Circuit as the Top 1 team of the State.  BCN eMotorsport has recently qualified for the most prestigious Formula Student competitions, a race in which engineering students from all over the world compete to come up with the most brilliant concept of a single-seater racing car. A true top-level master’s degree in the automotive sector.

Testing: a key turning point

 

For the Powertrain team —in charge of the cars’ power systems within BCN eMotorsport—testing is decisive as it allows them to optimize all the work done during the season.

This year, some of the team’s challenges include maximizing efficiency and developing lighter batteries. As eMotorsport explains, “All the power from the battery is distributed to our 4 motors through the inverters. They have an output of 60kW per motor and show incredibly high efficiency. Powertrain also takes care of the smooth running of the 4 motors: each with a power of 35kW and a torque of 27 Nm. Due to new developments in the FS rules, they are also involved in the development of the regenerative braking, which will allow the batteries to be lighter”.

The Powertrain team is also refining the seventh battery, which is made up of six hardware-controlled lithium cell segments. “These cells are finally placed in 3D printed modules inside a carbon fiber and Kevlar enclosure,” they explain.

From the in-house high-voltage battery to the four outboard wheel motors, via the ventilation and cooling system needed for the cars to conquer the racetrack, all systems need to perform to perfection before the competitions. As a Gold Sponsor of the electric vehicle (EV) and self-driving model (DC), the testing phase at Premium will allow the systems to be tested in the best possible environment, within a leading company that shares a passion for world-class power electronics.

Welcome! Let’s go for it together!