Zero Motorcycles, Inc., a California-based company that designs, manufactures, and sells high performance electric motorcycles, identified a market opportunity for more powerful and efficient electric vehicle powertrains. Under California Energy Commission Grant ARV-10-013, Zero Motorcycles evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of this advanced electric vehicle powertrain, developed and prototyped the most promising powertrain (electric motor and integrated controller), and brought the final prototype to pilot manufacturing verification.
The project was a success in all technical areas, producing an advanced electric vehicle powertrain that not only exceeded the target motor constant (Km) by 132 percent over the baseline goal, but also advanced the overall state of the market. More challenging was cost: Zero designed a manufacturable motor, but without significant additional investment in process automation, the powertrain costs still exceeded the target cost from the original grant proposal. Three primary reasons drove the cost variance - increased performance specifications, the motor controller, and the labor content of the motor.
The technology developed under this grant resulted in a powertrain that exceeds 35 kilowatts in peak performance and costs less than those used in Zero Motorcycles' 2012 product line. Zero will leverage the newly designed advanced electric vehicle powertrain's performance to manufacture higher volumes of electric motorcycles in California, exceeding consumer expectations, while displacing internal combustion vehicles in both California and worldwide fleets.
