Australia student invents affordable electric car conversion kit.

FrankOVD writes: Alexander Burton is a bachelor's student in industrial design and sustainable systems engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne and worked on a prototype kit called REVR (Rapid Electric Vehicle Retrofits) for converting ICE cars to hybrid electric for under 3000$. Burton wanted to find an affordable solution for others in his position while helping to reduce the emissions associated with burning petrol as well as manufacturing new electric vehicles, which are estimated to be even higher than for traditional cars. Minimal modifications to the vehicle are needed. A flat, compact, power-dense axial flux motor would be mounted between the car's rear wheels and disc brakes, and a battery and controller system placed in the spare wheel well or boot. Some additional off-the-shelf systems – brake and steering boosters, as well as e-heating and air conditioning – would also be added under the hood. By taking this approach, Burton believes he'll be able to offer the product for around AU$5,000 (£2,640) and make it compatible with virtually any car.

Burton thinks his prototype, paired with a small battery could give the car 100km of electric range which is where, in his view, people can get "the most bang for their buck" with few changes to the car but major emissions reductions. "While people drive a lot, especially here in Australia, on average they drive 35 kilometres a day and it's mostly commuting."

Burton used the motor modelling packages FEMM and MOTORXP to develop the design of his motor, which sees the spinning part, called the rotor, placed between a vehicle's disc brakes.

The stationary part, or stator, is fixed to existing mounting points on the brake hub.