UNIT 1

Introduction to Electric Vehicles

Prepared by,
Miss. Savita C. Kundargi
Lecturer, Department of Electrical and Electronics
B.V.V.S Polytechnic( Autonomous), Bagalkot
 Introduction
• Environmental and economical issues always provide a need of
importance to develop clean and efficient , sustainable vehicles for
transportation.
• These issues always look at alternate energy sources for alternate
transportation technologies.
• Passengers vehicles constitute an integral part of our everyday life,
yet the exhaust emission of the conventional internal combustion
engine vehicles are the major source of urban pollution that
causes the greenhouse gasses which leads to global warming.
• World reservoirs for fissile fuels diminishing , we have to look at
alternate energy sources and vehicles for sustainable development
of country and eco friendly environment.
• Emission due to power generation is much easier to regulate than
pollution occurred by IC Engine vehicles as these are scattered and
controlled individually all over the world.
• Electric power can be generated using renewable energy
sources like solar, wind.
• The source of energy for electric vehicles should be clean and
hence gives high efficient transportation system.
• Electric vehicles have no emission and therefore are capable
of curbing the problem of pollution in an efficient way.
• Electric vehicles are the only Zero Emission Vehicles(ZEV).
• EVs are becoming popular as not only they reduce noise and
pollution, but also they reduce dependency on transportation
on oil when energy used for EVs provided by non renewable
energy.
 Electric vehicles in India
• First concrete decision to incentives electric vehicle was taken in 2010. Rs.
95 crore scheme was approved by Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy(MNRE), Govt. of India.
• In 2013, “ National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020” to male
a major shift to electric vehicle and to address the issue of national energy
security, vehicular pollution and growth of domestic manufacturing
capabilities.
• In 2015-16 the scheme named, Faster Adoption of Electric Vehicles (FAME)
to offer incentives for clean fuel technology cars to boost sales up to 7
million vehicles by 2020. In 2019, union cabinet cleared Rs 10000 crore
programme under FAME-II scheme to encourage faster adoption of
electric vehicles.
• India is expected to hit over 63 Lakh unit mark per annum by 2027,
according to the report of Indian Energy Storage Alliance (IESA).
 History of Electric Vehicles
• Before 1830- Steam powered transportation
• 1831-Faraday’s law and shortly thereafter , invention of dc motor.
• 1834-Non rechargeable battery powered electric car used on short
track
• 1851- Non rechargeable 19 miles/ hour electric car
• 1859- Development of lead storage battery
• 1874-Battery powered carriage
• 1960- Due to environmental hazardous of IC engine vehicles, Ford
company started research on electric vehicles.
• 1970-Increased demand on alternate energy sources led to increased
interest on electric vehicles.
• 1980-1990- revolutions of high power high frequency semiconductor
switches, led to improved electric motors efficiently.
• 2008-Tesla motor delivered Tesla Roadster, which is the first battery
electric vehicle to travel more than 200 miles on single charge.
• 2017-Etrio raised over 3 million in funds for eco friendly transportation.
 Electric Vehicles
Definition: Electric Vehicle
• Any vehicle propelled by an electric drive train draining taking
power from a rechargeable battery or from a portable,
refillable, electrical energy source (like fuel cell, solar panels,
etc.), which is manufactured for use on public road.
• An electric vehicle is a vehicle that runs fully or partially on
electricity. Unlike conventional vehicles that just use fossil fuels,
e-vehicles use an electric motor that is powered by a fuel cell or
batteries.
• “A vehicle which uses one or more electric motors for
propulsion. Depending on the type of vehicle, motion may be
provided by wheels or propellers driven by rotary motors, or in
the case of tracked vehicles, by linear motors.”
• “Electric vehicles can include electric cars, electric trains,
electric trucks, electric lorries, electric airplanes, electric boats,
electric motorcycles and scooters, and electric spacecraft.”
 Electric Vehicle system
The figure shows the block diagram of an electric vehicle system driven by a
portable energy source

Drive
control
signals
Charger

Energy Transmissi
Power Electric Wheel
storage on Drive
converter Motor
(battery) shaft

The energy flow in a electric vehicle starts from the source of energy and ends
at the wheels with delivery of propulsion power: The path for this power and
energy flow is known as power train of vehicle.
• The electromechanical energy conversion system between the
vehicle energy source and the wheels is the power train of the
vehicles. The power train has mechanical and electrical
components.
• The fuel for electric vehicles is stored in an energy storage device,
such as a battery pack, for energy delivered on demand.
• The primary source of energy for electricity generation for these
vehicles is varies , range form fissile fuels to solar energy.
• The battery electric vehicles requires the power delivered in the
form of electricity to the vehicles through electric power
transmission system.
• A high energy capacity battery pack is the most common energy
storage device.
• Electric machines require an electric drive to control the machine
and deliver the required power based on requested demands and
feedback signals.
• Electric drives are made up of power electronic devices and
electronic controllers.
• The drives are electrical-to-electrical energy conversion device
that convert steady voltages with fixed frequency in to
variable voltage supply for the electric machine.
• The drives can also process electrical power in the other
direction assisting the electric machine to convert mechanical
power into electrical power when the electric machine
operates as a generators.
• DC to DC converter is used to DC power conversion from high
voltage to low voltage levels or vice versa.
• The motor is required to convert electrical power to
mechanical power.
• Transmission is used for transferring electrical energy to the
motion of wheels through driveshaft and gear mechanism
 Components of Electric vehicles
1. MOTOR :The main function of motor is to convert supplied electric energy in
to mechanical energy. Brushless DC motor (BLDC) have been much focused
for many motor manufacturers. These are more effective in term of System
cost, size, higher in efficiency, excellent controllability and also power saving
than other motor.
It has only two basic main parts Rotor and stator. The rotor is rotating part
which carry permanent magnet and stator is stationary part and containing
stator winding. The structure of stator is similar to the induction motor. It is
made up of steel lamination with axially cut for winding. 
2. MOTOR CONTORLLER : In most of the electric vehicle, Brushless DC motor is
used which is better than brushed DC motor, permanent magnet DC motor.
Brushless DC motor does not have brush and commutator, the electric vehicle
which uses brushless DC motor has to use motor controller which helps to
control various properties of motor to take sufficient current and voltage
applied to motor.
When accelerating pedal is press, this linked variable resistor type controller
gives signal to the motor controller to adjust speed as per our needs. The
motor controller has no power when vehicle is at rest position.
3. BATTERY :The main function of battery is to store electric energy.
Most Hybrid and electric vehicle used lithium ion batteries. This
storage system is usually essential for hybrid electric vehicle, Plug in
hybrid electric vehicle and all types of electric vehicles. Due to
advancing technologies, most of automobile manufacturer uses
rechargeable batteries.
4. Charging port: The charging port allows the vehicle to connect to an
external power supply in order to charge the traction battery pack.
5. DC-DC Converter: It converts high voltage DC power from traction
battery pack to the low voltage DC power needed to run vehicle
accessories and recharge the auxiliary battery.
6. Power electronics controller: This unit manages flow of electrical
energy delivered by the traction battery , controlling the speed of
electric traction motor and torque it produces.
7. Electric Traction motor: Using power from traction battery pack,
this motor drives the vehicles wheels. Some vehicles use motor
generators that perform both the dive and regeneration functions.
8. Transmission: The transmission transfers mechanical power from
the electric traction motor to drive the wheels.
9. Onboard charger: Takes the incoming AC electricity supplied via
the charge port and converts it to DC power for charging the
traction battery.
It also communicates with the charging equipment and monitors
battery characteristics such as voltage, current, temperature, and
state of charge while charging the pack
10. Traction battery pack: It stores electricity for use by the electric
traction motor.
General Layout of Electric Vehicle
The EV has three major subsystems:
• Electric propulsion
• Energy source
• Auxiliary system
The electric propulsion subsystem comprises of:
• The electronic controller
• Power converter
• Electric Motor (EM)
• Mechanical transmission
• Driving wheels
The energy source subsystem consists of:
• The energy source (battery, fuel cell, ultra capacitor)
• Energy management unit
• Energy refueling unit
The auxiliary subsystem consists of Power steering unit:
• Temperature control unit
• Auxiliary power supply
• In Figure 1 the black line represents the mechanical link.
• The green line represents the electrical link.
• The blue line represents the control information communication.
• Based on the control inputs from the brake and accelerator pedals,
the electronic controller provides proper control signals to switch
on or off the power converter which in turn regulates the power
flow between the electric motor and the energy source.
• The backward power flow is due to regenerative braking of the EV
and this regenerative energy can be stored provided the energy
source is receptive.
• The energy management unit cooperates with the electronic
controller to control regenerative braking and its energy recovery.
• It also works with the energy-refueling unit to control refueling and
to monitor usability of the energy source.
• •TheRegenerative braking is
auxiliary power supply an energy
provides recovery mechanism
the necessary power thatwith
slows down
different voltagea moving
levels vehicle
for all or object
EV by converting
auxiliaries, especially its 
the
kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately
temperature control
or stored until and power steering units.
needed. 
In modern EV’s configuration:
• Three phase motors are generally used to provide the traction force
• The power converter is a three-phase PWM inverter
• Mechanical transmission is based on fixed gearing and a
differential(While gear reduction)
• Li-ion battery is typically selected as the energy source
EV Classification
1. Plug in electric Vehicles:
• It is any motor vehicle that can be recharged from any
external; source of energy electricity such as wall sockets
and electricity stored in the rechargeable battery packs
drives or contributes to drive the vehicles.
• PEV is a subcategory of electric vehicle that includes battery
electric vehicle, plug in hybrid electric vehicle and electric
vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and
conventional IC engine vehicles.
2. Battery Electric Vehicle( BEV):
• It is full electric vehicle. 80-300 mile, 16-85 kWh
• These are powered exclusively by electricity, with their
electric motor drawing current from on board battery packs.
• BEVs do not have any form of ICE.
• These really depends completely on electricity.
• They have very high capacity batteries.
• The cost of EVs will high, if they are provided with extra
battery.
• This can be done through either home charger or fast
charging station or energy recouped by regenerative braking.
3. Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV):
• It combustion conventional internal combustion engine with
an electric motor and battery pack to reduce fuel
consumption.
• HEVs achieve this by using an electric motor to drive the car
during conditions when an ICE is especially inefficient, like
when accelerating from a stop.
• HEV technology automatically charges the battery through
what's known as regenerative braking and activates the
electric motor system when conditions ate suitable, meaning
drives do not have to monitor charges or plug the cars into
power outlets.
4. Full Electric Vehicles (FHV):
• It completely run on an electric drive system
• Since no pollutants are produced while driving, these
vehicles are often marked as zero emission vehicles.
5. Range Extended EV(REEV)
• It is a vehicle powered by an electric motor and a plug in
battery.
• An auxiliary combustion engine is used only to suppliment
battery charging and not as a primary source of power
• 35-40 miles,8-10kWh
How electric vehicles move
• EV’s are like an automatic car. They have a forward and
reverse mode. When you place the vehicle in gear and
press on the accelerator pedal these things happen:
• Power is converted from the DC battery to AC for the
electric motor
• The accelerator pedal sends a signal to the controller
which adjusts the vehicle's speed by changing the
frequency of the AC power from the inverter to the motor
• The motor connects and turns the wheels through a cog
• When the brakes are pressed or the car is decelerating,
the motor becomes an alternator and produces power,
which is sent back to the battery
Comparison with internal combustion engine:
Advantages and Disadvantages of EV
Top EV Makers In The World
• Modern Electric Car Companies
– 1. Tesla
– 2. Rivian
– 3. Nio
– 4. Xpeng Motors
• Conventional Brands Betting Big On Electric Ve
hicles
– 1. GM (General Motors)
– 2. Volkswagen Group
– 3. BYD_(Build Your Dreams)
 Overview of Tesla car

• Tesla was founded on the 1st of July in 2003 by a group of

engineers based in San Carlos, California.
• They launched their first electric car 5 years later in 2008 –
the Roadster. Since then, they have gone on to design the
world’s first-ever premium all-electric sedan( a passenger
vehicle in a three-box design with four doors and a
separate trunk.), the Model S, along with many more mind-
boggling electric cars that all use the same cutting-edge
battery technology Tesla has become so famous for.
• Tesla cars, also known as EVs have an electric motor instead
of an internal combustion engine. They use a large traction
battery pack to power the internal electric motor.
• Because Tesla cars run on electricity, they emit no exhaust
fumes and do not contain the usual liquid fuel components,
such as a fuel line, fuel pump, or fuel tank.
Induction Motor
• The first induction motor was invented by Nikola Tesla around 100 years
ago. It has two main parts, the stator, and the rotor.
• The rotor is simply a collection of conducting bars short-circuited by end
rings. A 3 phase AC power output is given to the stator.
• The three-phase AC in the coils produces a magnetic field. Tesla motors
produce a four-pole magnetic field.
• This rotating magnetic field induces a current on the rotor bars to make
them turn. In an induction motor, the rotor usually lags behind the rotor
speed (RMF speed)
• An induction motor has neither brushes nor a permanent magnet, yet
remains very powerful.
• The fantastic thing about induction motors is that the rotation speed
depends on the frequency of the AC power supply.
• This means the speed at which the wheel turns can be altered by simply
varying the frequency of the power supply.
• This fact makes speed control on a Tesla easy and reliable. In fact, a Tesla
motor can range from 0 to 18,000 RPM.
Inverter
The battery pack is what supplies the induction motor with power. However, it
produces DC power, this means that before the supply can get to the motor, it has to be
converted from DC to AC power. This is where the inverter comes into play.
Not only does the invert convert DC to AC, it also controls the AC power frequency, thus
controlling the motor speed.
The inverter can even shift the amplitude of the AC motor which in turn controls the
motor output power. Essentially, the inverter acts as the brain of the electric car.
Battery Pack
• This may come as a surprise to most, but the battery packs consist of
vast collections of common lithium-ion battery cells, similar to those
used in your everyday life.
• All these cells are interconnected in a combination of series and
parallel to produce the required power to run the electric car.
• Glycol coolant is passed through metallic inner tubes which intertwine
their way through the small gaps between the cells. This is one
principle that sets Tesla apart from other electric car manufacturers.
• By using many small cells instead of few big cells, essential cooling is
guaranteed. This reduces thermal hot spots which produce even
temperature distribution among the many cells – leading to higher
battery pack life.
• All these cells are arranged in detachable modules, leading to about
16 of these modules which include around 7000 cells.
 BEV
• It runs entirely using an electric motor and battery, without the
support of traditional IC engine.
• It must be plugged in to an external source of electricity to
recharge its battery.
• BEVs also charges its battery by regenerative braking, which
recover some of energy normally converted to heat by the brakes.
• The wheels are driven by the electric motor which is run by
batteries through a controller circuit.
• These have to completely rely on batteries.
• Typically they can cover 100km -250 km on one charge. Top tire
vehicles can cover around 300 to 500 km.
• These ranges depends on driving condition and style, vehicle
configuration, road condition, climate, battery type and age.
• If battery get depleted, it gets more time to recharge copared to
refueling of IC engine.
Advantages
1. No emission while running
2. Silent
3. No gas or oil changes
4. Ability to charge conveniently
5. Fast and smooth acceleration
6. Low cost of operation
7. Instant and high torques, even at low speeds.
Disadvantages
8. Covers shorter range than gasoline vehicles
9. More expensive
Applications:
10. Nissan Leaf, Tesla
 HEV
• It has two complementary drive systems: a gasoline engine with a
fuel tank and electric motor with a battery.
• Both the engine and transmission system can turn the transmission
system at the same time, and then the transmission system turns the
wheels.
• HEVs can not be recharged from electrical grid.
• The energy of regenerative braking is stored in batteries.
• The wheels are driven both by electric motor and IC engine through a
controller circuit.
• HEV uses electric propulsion system when power demand is low. it is
advantageous when in low speed conditions in urban areas. And
engine will totally off during idling period.
• When high speed is needed, HEV switches to the engine mode.
• The battery is never plugged in to charging. It is fueled by gasoline
and uses a battery powered motor to improve efficiency.
• Hence due to these features, HEVs are widely adopted by
manufacturers.
Advantages:
1. Low exhaust emission levels than internal combustion
engines
2. Increased range compared to electric vehicles
3. Engines can be down sized to accommodate average load,
not peak load, which reduces the engine’s weight.
4. Fuel efficiency is greatly increased.
5. Emissions are greatly decreased.
Disadvantages:
6. Bulky and heavy
7. Require very complicated control system
8. Cost is very high
Applications:
9. Toyota prius
 PHEV
• It uses electric motor and battery that can be plugged into the power
grid to charge the battery but also have the support of IC engine that
may used for recharging of battery.
• Because plug in hybrid electric vehicles use electricity from the grid, they
often realize more savings in fuel cost than traditional hybrid electric
vehicles.
• These vehicles run on electric motor until the battery is depleted, at
which point the engine can kick in, extending the car’s range.
Advantages:
1. Longer range than BEV
2. Less gas consumption than gas only vehicle
3. Fewer emissions
4. Very simple mechanics, less to go wrong.
Disadvantages:
5. Reduces tailpipe emissions
6. Needs gas and oil changes
7. More expensive to operate than battery electric vehicle but
less than traditional hybrid vehicle
Applications
8. Chevrolet Volt
References
1. Ehsani, M. Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric and Fuel Cell Vehicles:
Fundamentals, Theory and Design, CRC Press, second edition-a Textbook
2. A.K. Babu, Electric & Hybrid Vehicles, Khanna Publishing House, New
Delhi (Ed. 2018)
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle
4. https://climatebiz.com/how-do-tesla-cars-work/
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SAxXUIre28
1. What is the working mechanism of electric vehicle system? Explain with
block diagram.
2. What is the significance of using BLDC motor in electric vehicles.
3. How motor controller and power electronic controller works in electric
vehicles? explain briefly.
4. Justify the significance of alternate vehicles for future.
5. Define electric vehicles and its importance.
6. Explain briefly the history of EV
7. Explain the classification of EV
8. Briefly explain general layout of EV
9. Explain different components used in EV
10. Explain Tesla electric car
11. Explain battery electric vehicles briefly.
12. Explain how electric vehicles move.
13. List out differences between IC engine vehicles and Electric vehicles.
14. List advantages and disadvantages of Electric vehicle.