Electric Vehicle Laboratory
Swinburne's Electric Vehicle Laboratory is the home of world-leading research and prototyping of electric vehicles, battery technology, drivetrain and electric motors.
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Professor Ajay Kapoor with members of the electric vehicle research team
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Arnaldo Sanchez, eBus Project Leader, in front of the project bus
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The laboratory boasts a fully-equipped workshop, staffed by specialist engineers and technicians, so that prototypes can be designed, built and tested on site. By collaborating with industry, the lab has created a faster and more dynamic development process.
Recent projects
The lab works on a range of different research and prototyping projects.
Working in partnership with BusTech and AutoCRC, the laboratory developed the first electric bus to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia. The lab worked on the engineering design of the bus, the on-site manufacture of battery pack technology and control system development and testing. Swinburne's specialist engineering team have many years combined experience in automotive and industrial sectors and the eBus Project integrates technology from around the world.
The lab is also home to Swinburne’s Aurora solar car, Formula SAE and Victoria’s first fast electric car charging station.
Laboratory facilities
- High voltage battery system
- Direct current testing rigs
- Computer controlsimulation for battery charge and discharge
- Electronic development for control systems
- Software integration
Battery testing facilities
- 4 channels, each 2000W
- Battery charging/discharging current 100A
- Programmable charging and discharging current and voltage
Temperature and humidifier chamber
- Temperature range -35C to 180 C
- Humidity range 10 to 98% RH
- Both temperature and humidity can be programmed to simulate EV operating conditions
- Single battery or battery pack can be placed into the chamber for testing
Thermal image camera
- Temperature range is -20 C to 250C
- Real-time measurement and real-time display
- High thermal sensitivity
- Photos can be taken in real-time to observe battery temperature distribution during battery charging and discharging process