Researchers from Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and engineers from the automobile industry will team up for Visio.M, the joint research project, to develop concepts for manufacturing low-cost, secure and efficient electric cars.
Electric Vehicles for Mass Production" />The electric vehicle prototype MUTE developed by the TU Muenchen will serve as a test carrier for the consortium partners to explore innovations and new technologies for vehicle safety, propulsion, energy storage, and operational concepts.Credit: Florian Lehmann / TU Muenchen
BMW AG will lead the project. About 10.8 million euros is invested on the project and the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) has granted fund for the project.
The electric vehicles (EVs), which were manufactured based on gasoline-powered vehicles, use big, costly batteries for charging and are heavy in weight. Then, small electric cars have been developed, however, they were not safe and hence, not mass-marketable. As EVs do not produce emissions and noise, they are being considered as an excellent alternative for ensuring individual mobility in urban regions though mass production for EVs is still facing a number of technological obstacles .
The research team will work to reduce the cost and enhance the safety of small yet efficient EVs that will allow the EVs to hold an important share of the mass market. Infact, the researchers will work to develop an EV with 15 KW of power and maximal curb weight of 400 kg excluding battery and one that satisfies the European regulatory category L7e.
MUTE, an electric vehicle prototype created by the TU Muenchen will be used for this exploration. The research team will discover novel, innovative technologies for energy storage, propulsion and safety of the EVs and develop operational concepts to be executed based on the mass production requirements. Light weight Visio.M is also anticipated to provide safety equivalent to traditional combustion engine cars.