News and Announcements
Engineering consultancy Alvant innovates the automotive industry
- Published November 06, 2019 12:00AM UTC
- Publisher Wholesale Investor
- Categories Company Updates
Engineering consultancy Alvant has developed a proprietary manufacturing process called advanced liquid pressure forming (ALPF), which works with any relatively low-melting-point metal such as aluminium alloy.
The process can be used with silicon carbide particles mixed into the molten metal to produce a lower-cost version of the AMC material. The lightest, highest-performance and most costly variant incorporates fibres derived from aluminium oxide. The fibres are pre-formed into the required shape in a mould and then injected with the molten metal to make the component.
There is a huge potential for the use of AMC in EV powertrains and drivelines.
Alvant has been working specifically on rotors for axial flux (biscuit-tin-shape) drive motors for EVs. In conjunction with UK motor manufacturer Yasa, it has developed a rotor that is 40% lighter than the original.
Elsewhere, a sandwich of AMC fibre-impregnated sheets with an AMC foam filling can work in a similar way to a bullet-proof vest, making it useful for protecting EV batteries at a fraction of the weight of a steel casing. Less weight equals smaller, lighter batteries, reducing cost and increasing range in the famous virtuous circle of weight reduction.
Because AMC is so stiff, it’s possible to reduce the air gap between the rotor and stator (electro-magnet windings) in axial flux (biscuit tin) EV motors, increasing the power-to-weight ratio of the motor.
About Alvant
Alvant Plc and its operating subsidiary, Alvant Ltd, form an advanced materials technology group that is involved in the specification, creation, manufacture and licensing of aluminium metal matrix composite (AMC) solutions. AMCs are lightweight high-performance metals that have the strength of steel but at half the weight. With the potential to be used across a range of industries, AMCs not only help meet sustainability targets but also enhance product capability.
Company Updates
Forget Startups: Why Magnetic Alliance is Betting on “Boring” Mid-Market Turnarounds
While Australia’s venture capital scene spent years chasing unprofitable tech startups and speculative high-growth plays, Mark Lim was quietly taking a radically different path. The Managing Partner of Magnetic Alliance Capital sees the nation’s richest investment opportunities hiding in plain sight: inside thousands of unglamorous, profitable, but operationally sluggish mid-market businesses. Speaking on Wholesale Investor’s […]
The asset class where the market has no vote
Litigation funding returns are decided in a courtroom, not a cycle. Knightsbridge’s Head of Capital is careful to call that a different risk rather than a lower one, and his answer to it is spread, not concentration. Most alternative assets still answer to something. Property answers to rates. Private credit answers to defaults. Even the […]
The listing fee vendors pay whether the house sells or not
Australia’s property portals collect more than $2 billion a year while national listings sit flat. An Australian-built AI platform is targeting the economics, not just the interface. An Australian vendor listing a home pays a vendor-paid advertising fee on top of agency commission. Rama Dwarapudi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RealSearch, puts a typical […]
Backed By Leading Investment Groups and Family Offices
