ACAL Technology co-sponsors students to design and race electric-drive and hybrid cars

The CQS Group T Racing Team approached ACAL for help with designing the electrical interface from the cars’ batteries to the drive-trains and to the electronics used for the telemetry and wireless communication with the pit team. In the electric-drive Odyssee car, this included converting a 400V input into an output voltage of 12V at 600W and a further conversion of the 12V supply to outputs of 15V and 5V. The Pegasus hybrid electric/petrol car required a single conversion from a 12V-input to a 24V output at 200W.



The deadline to race both prototypes in the 24H24 race meant that ACAL needed to design and supply the converters within a matter of weeks. The ACAL power specialists suggested Vicor VIPAC DC-DC converters which combined a fast standard lead-time with customisation to different input and output voltages. The standalone, ready-to-mount modules provided easy integration into the overall design as well as fast installation and connection to the electrical and electronic circuits. Their moulded construction also meant that the Vicor VIPAC modules would be capable of withstanding the high levels of vibration and shock that the cars would experience during the race.



“Future generations of designers will consign fossil fuels to the history books,” states Simon Rush, ACAL’s Divisional Sales & Marketing Information Manager: “By co-sponsoring the CQS Group T Racing Team students, with the Vicor DC-DC converters and specialist power design skills, ACAL is helping to develop the next generation of students who will go on to develop cars which will reduce the cost and environmental impact of driving.”