The ultra-high torque-density electric motor company DHX Electric Machines has partnered together with DeltaWing Technology Group to work on bringing the company’s technologies to general market use, according to recent reports.
The new agreement grants DeltaWing worldwide rights to the Georgia Tech spinoff’s electric motors and components — meaning that the company will very likely be manufacturing, utilizing, and selling DHX motors at some point.
Green Car Congress provides some background on why exactly this is of interest to us:
DHX traction motor technology is based on proprietary direct-winding heat exchange cooling technology that is able to remove motor heat at the source — the stator windings. The technology is based on the advanced micro-feature heat exchange research and development efforts of Dr J Rhett Mayor (DHX CEO) and Dr S Andrew Semidey (DHX VP of Engineering) at the George W Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.
The direct-winding heat exchange system uses micro-feature technology to increase the area of the cooling surface by up to 4 times that of a standard cooling channel. The micro-feature technology also helps to increase the relative flow velocity of the coolant, by a process of localized turbulence. As a result, the DHX cooling technology removes more than 10 times the heat of a standard coolant channel, the startup claims. More heat removal means more current (about 4 times more) leading to 4 times the torque. From another view, the DHX motor is 4 times smaller than a standard motor of the same power, the company says.
The DHX CEO Rhett Mayor commented: “Our DHX Falcon electric motor features standard materials, not exotic steels and magnets. It achieves power densities of 120 horsepower per gallon (25 kW per liter) and extraordinary torque of 195 lb-ft/gallon (70 N·m/l). In simple terms, it delivers the power and torque of the standard sedan’s powertrain in the space of a one-gallon can of paint.”