Welcome to the first section of the course Electric Cars: Technology. In this module you will learn more about how an electric car works. Before we move on to topics such as battery technology and charging, the first order of business is to learn all about the vehicle itself. All the fundamentals of electric vehicles will be touched upon: we will discuss what makes them different from traditional gasoline vehicles, we will run through design and powertrain considerations, elicit on the differences between various electric motors, and finally we will dive into power electronic converters in electric vehicles. In other words, we have a lot to discuss!

Here is a clear overview of the topics that will be discussed this week:

• • • Comparison electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles
      • • Comparison different drivetrains:
        • Internal combustion engine vehicles
        • Hybrid electric vehicles
        • Plugin hybrid electric vehicles
        • Full Electric vehicles
        • Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
    • Types of electric motors and their key features
    • Basics of power electronic converters in electric cars

A glossary of the key technical terms used in this course can be found below.

Important note:

• • • Throughout this course the term electric vehicle or short form EV generally refers to a pure battery electric vehicle (with no fuel tank and combustion engine). Unless otherwise specified, electric bikes, water-borne electric vehicles, airborne electric vehicles and other forms of electric vehicles are not within the scope of this course.
    • Battery electric vehicles are often referred to by several names : electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles, all electric vehicles, full electric vehicles or pure electric vehicles. What is important to note is that all these names do not have the word ‘hybrid’ in them.

Happy learning!