Multiple patents granted for in-wheel electric drive

Protean Electric, a specialist in advanced in-wheel motors for the automotive industry, has been awarded 17 patents for the unique technology and design of its Protean Drive system. More than 60 additional patent applications have been filed internationally and with specific countries in North America, Europe and Asia. Protean Electric chairman and CEO Bob Purcell says his company’s in-wheel motor design is unlike conventional motors or combustion powertrains with electric motors added. "We started with a c
March 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

4173 Protean Electric, a specialist in advanced in-wheel motors for the automotive industry, has been awarded 17 patents for the unique technology and design of its Protean Drive system. More than 60 additional patent applications have been filed internationally and with specific countries in North America, Europe and Asia.

Protean Electric chairman and CEO Bob Purcell says his company’s in-wheel motor design is unlike conventional motors or combustion powertrains with electric motors added. "We started with a clean sheet and designed motors specifically for in-wheel applications," he said.

Protean claims its in-wheel motors have the highest torque density of any of today's leading electric propulsion systems. Each in-wheel motor can deliver 81 kW (110 hp) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft), yet weighs only 31 kg (68 lbs.) and is sized to fit within the space of a conventional 18-inch road wheel. It is also claimed the drive also has superior regenerative braking capabilities, which allow up to 85 per cent of the available kinetic energy to be recovered during braking.

The company states its Protean Drive can increase fuel economy by over 30 per cent depending on the battery size and driving cycle. It is also powerful enough to be the only source for traction on a variety of vehicles.

Patents protecting Protean's innovations in technology and design already have been awarded in the United Kingdom and the United States. The company has filed additional patents in Europe, China, Malaysia, Japan, and India.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Future EV owners can make money from the power grid
    May 17, 2012
    In what is being claimed as a landmark research report published by Ricardo and National Grid in the UK, the market potential is demonstrated for an electric plug-in vehicle fleet of the future to provide balancing services to the power grid on a commercial basis, returning value to vehicle owners while improving the carbon efficiency of grid operation.
    Read More
  • 'No lack of political drive' on ITS
    June 11, 2012
    This issue of ITS International contains a feature article based on interviews with leading figures of the ITS associations of the United States, Europe, Japan and Malaysia. A key point made is the importance of political leadership or policy direction in driving take up and implementation of ITS technology. This industry actually need not complain of a lack of drive on the part of politicians, or so it seems from other projects reported in this issue. True, the US would welcome a new transport bill and the
    Read More
  • Zero emission delivery vehicle project begins in Houston
    September 2, 2013
    The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) has teamed up with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation to reduce vehicle emissions from delivery trucks in the region. As part of a US Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored effort, local fleets will replace existing diesel delivery vehicles with thirty all-electric medium and heavy-duty Smith Newton trucks for daily operations in the Houston-Galveston area.
    Read More
  • How ITS weathers the storm on I-80
    September 7, 2021
    Weather-related closures on Wyoming’s I-80 can cost as much as $11.7m each. But a new initiative is harnessing V2X technology to prevent snow shutting things down
    Read More

Highlighted Content