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World Electric Vehicle Journal is published by MDPI from Volume 9 issue 1 (2018). Previous articles were published by The World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) and its member the European Association for e-Mobility (AVERE), the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA), and the Electric Vehicle Association of Asia Pacific (EVAAP). They are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with AVERE.
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Article

Optimal Lightweighting in Battery Electric Vehicles

by
Johannes Hofer
1,*,
Erik Wilhelm
2 and
Warren Schenler
1
1
Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 0213 9-4307, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
World Electr. Veh. J. 2012, 5(3), 751-762; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj5030751
Published: 28 September 2012

Abstract

This paper presents an analytic solution to find the optimal amount of lightweighting in a battery electric vehicle (BEV). The additional cost of lightweighting is traded off against the cost savings due to the smaller battery and motor required at constant performance and range. Current technology cost estimates indicate that for a medium sized BEV, optimal glider mass reduction is on the order of 450 kg in 2012 leading to estimated manufacturing cost reductions of 4.9%. Declining powertrain costs are expected to reduce the importance of lightweighting in minimizing BEV cost in the future, and rising electricity costs to increase the gap between the optimal solutions based on minimizing manufacturing versus total costs. The results are strongly dependent on the future development of lightweighting, battery, and electricity costs. The sensitivity of the optimal mass reduction to these critical parameters has been evaluated, and is shown to increase over time.
Keywords: BEV (battery electric vehicle); cost, optimization; light weighting BEV (battery electric vehicle); cost, optimization; light weighting

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Hofer, J.; Wilhelm, E.; Schenler, W. Optimal Lightweighting in Battery Electric Vehicles. World Electr. Veh. J. 2012, 5, 751-762. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj5030751

AMA Style

Hofer J, Wilhelm E, Schenler W. Optimal Lightweighting in Battery Electric Vehicles. World Electric Vehicle Journal. 2012; 5(3):751-762. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj5030751

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hofer, Johannes, Erik Wilhelm, and Warren Schenler. 2012. "Optimal Lightweighting in Battery Electric Vehicles" World Electric Vehicle Journal 5, no. 3: 751-762. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj5030751

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