Lvchi Auto Group unveils the new “Venere”, with an electric powertrain designed and manufactured by Podium Advanced Technologies

7 March 2018

Geneva, 7 March 2018 – Lvchi Auto Group has premiered at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show the new “Venere”, a high-performance, 740 kW all-electric four-seater. The electric powertrain and the 104 kWh battery have been designed and entirely built by Podium Advanced Technologies, using the new wire-bonding facility recently added to the company lab.

 
Lvchi Auto Group was founded in 2016 in Shanghai, China. The company is an integration of the whole value chain of alternative energy vehicle (research and development, manufacturing, distribution, after market service and so on), capital operation and financial services.

Lvchi Auto Group is a new energy vehicle enterprise, based on science and technology innovation. The strategic positioning of Lvchi Auto is to be an intelligent mobile life operator. With its global headquarter located in Shanghai, it aims to fulfill its enterprise vision of creating “intelligent mobile life ecosystem.”

Lvchi relies upon an engineering research institute in Shanghai, and several overseas locations including an engineering center in Turin, Italy, a technology center in Coventry, England, and an auxiliary center in Silicon Valley, USA.

The Lvchi Venere is a high-performance, all-electric four-seater conceived according to the criteria used in the design and manufacture of Gran Turismo vehicles, developed in partnership with Italian engineering and design firm I.DE.A. Institute.
The underlying concept in terms of structure is the frame, the central element made totally of composite material, carbon fiber sandwich and honeycomb design, devised to achieve the torsional and flexural rigidity appropriate for the expected high performance, combined with a contained overall weight.

The frame is manufactured integrally, i.e. using the roof as a collaborative structural component. It is the first four-door four-seater with such characteristics. This central element is joined by aluminum chassis supports that are attached to the front and rear powertrain.

The whole electric powertrain system – including the battery pack, the BMS, the electric motors controls – has been designed, developed and assembled by Podium Advanced Technologies.

The 100+ kWh lithium ion battery pack, using the proprietary Podium Advanced Technologies Battery Management System, has been designed with the target to optimize the trade-off between max power output and range extension, and has been assembled entirely in the Podium Advanced Technologies laboratories, using leading-edge wire-bonding technology facility.

The electric powertrain consists of four electric motors, two installed on the front axle and two on the rear axle, combined with a differential per axle, so as to implement a permanent all-wheel drive.
The differential housing also contains a two-speed transmission to optimize the distribution of torque and power.

The interface with the driver and the passengers is provided by an innovative touchscreen unit built into the tunnel, which allows for the management of the car functions, replacing the traditional knob. It will allow the driver and the passengers to select all the functions desired.

Finally, innovative aerodynamics solutions have been employed to reduce drag and ensure efficiency. It will be manufactured in Turin and marketed in 2019.

Technical data

LENGTH [mm] 5.150
HEIGHT [mm] 1.418
WIDTH [mm] 2.120
WHEEL BASE [mm] 3.040
TRACKSIDE FRONT [mm] 1.662
TRACKSIDE REAR [mm] 1.680
DRAG COEFFICIENT 0.28
MOTOR (TYPE) PERMANENT MAGNET ELECTRIC MOTORS
MOTOR POSITION 2 REAR AND 2 FRONT
MAXIMUM REVS [rpm] 13.000
MAX. POWER [KW] 740 (185 FOR EACH MOTOR)
MAX. TORQUE [Nm] 1.540
BATTERY CAPACTY [KWh] > 100
BATTERY TYPE LITHIUM – ION
WEIGHT [Kg] 2.100

Assembly process

Sorting, Testing and Stacking Cylindrical
- Fully automated station
- 100% cells state of health testing (including open circuit voltage, resistance/AC impedance, temperature
- Stations able to handle module up to 1200 mm length
- Different cooling strategies can be handled within this station
- Similar capacity cells can be sorted and included in a module
- Fast and tack-free led lamp curing
- Accurate pressing operation
Sorting, Testing and Stacking Cylindrical
Sorting, Testing and Stacking Prismatic and Pouch
- Fully automated station
- 100% cells state of health testing (including open circuit voltage, resistance/AC impedance, temperature
- Stations can handle different cell dimensions and different thermal extraction strategies
- Accurate pressing operation
Sorting, Testing and Stacking Prismatic and Pouch
Bus Bar Laser Welding
- Cutting edge laser beam technology that guarantees robust joints for several type of busbar connections
- Possibility to weld challenging reflective materials such as CU, Al and dissimiral combination of materials
- Internal development of welding parameters
- Extensive quality control such as weld penetration in process monitoring and resistivity checks
- Stations can handle module up to 1200 mm length and 600 mm width
Bus Bar Laser Welding
Ultrasonic wire bonding
- Fully automatic station
- Wire bonding with the highest axis accuracy
- Continuous real time monitoring of wire condition and process
- Integrated quality control
Ultrasonic wire bonding
Pack assembly stations
- Stations equipped with manual assistors and process dedicated tools to allow assembly teams to work in perfect ergonomic and safe conditions
- Stations equipped with torque monitored tools
- Control tracking system to verify process completion and quality monitoring
- Junction box assembly and quality control
- Controlled sealing application completed after functional test
Pack assembly stations
EOL Testing
- Battery module and pack functional tests
- BMS firmware and software flashing
- Pack cooling system integrity test
EOL Testing

Main features

  • Safety: BMS Design compliant for ISO 26262
  • Scalable slave-master architecture, handles systems
    up to 1.000 V
  • Cell dissipative balancing

Functionalities

  • Real time monitoring cells & components voltage
    and temperatures
  • Advanced algorithms for SOC/SOH estimation
  • Advanced SOP estimation with realtime cell
    thermoelectrical models
  • Electromechanical components feedback monitoring
    and degradation estimation (fuses, contactors)
  • Control and monitoring of the thermal management system
  • Sensing of current, water leak, internal humidity, etc
  • Ground fault monitoring of grounded or ungrounded systems

Services related to BMS

  • Testing and modelling of battery cells
    and systems
  • Experimental characterization of cells
    for accurate state estimation algorithms
    (e.g., SOC, SOE, SOH, SOP)
  • BMS hardware and software development
    for specific applications
  • Prototyping of high-performance
    battery systems
  • Consulting in the field of battery systems

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