With environmental norms expected to grow more stringent, MTEE, along with its partner Prodrive Technologies, has designed and developed the RANGE+ prototype as a range extender for BEVs focused on affordability and practicality.

"The RANGE+ solves many of the issues which are currently holding back consumers from purchasing BEVs," said Bas Bonnier, General Manager Turbocharger Division, MTEE. "In back-up situations, the RANGE+ increases the driving range by charging the battery as you drive. And thanks to its multi fuel capability, a vehicle can be refueled in only few minutes," he continued.

The RANGE+ prototype is based on proven turbocharger and gas turbine technology; it uses a gas turbine to drive a generator that charges the battery. In addition, its inherent high power-to-weight ratio and low number of parts allows compact, lightweight and cost-effective designs. Furthermore, BEV's will be more affordable to manufacture and have a further reduced environmental footprint because, with the RANGE+, a smaller battery pack will be sufficient to power the vehicle.

Advanced combustion combined with the right matched turbocharger technology, leads to a low combustion temperature, and thereby low emissions. The future series production version of the RANGE+ will be designed with low NOx emissions and to comply with the SULEV 2025 (California) emission standard.

The target specification for the produced RANGE+ series is a 31% overall efficiency, which will generate 30kWe, sufficient to drive a passenger vehicle at 130km/h speed continuously.

www.mtee.eu