Video: Tech secrets of Lucid's EV motors
Kevin J. Harrigan | October 11, 2022As underlying technology and social infrastructure of electric vehicles (EVs) develop, so too does performance. This has led to elite performance from EVs like Tesla's Model S Plaid, a sportscar that does 0 to 60 mph in just 2.1 seconds, thanks to three powerful electric motors, totaling 760 kW, or about 1,020 hp.
Not to be outdone, Lucid produces fewer cars than Tesla today, but the California automaker feels it has the technology and engineering to compete. Lucid Air's luxury sedan recently won Motortrend's 2022 Car of the Year award. And the sports version of the Lucid Air, the Sapphire, outputs 1,200 hp with three motors, delivering 0 to 60 mph in less than 2 seconds. This in a motor that is approximately the size of a suitcase.
In a recent video, Lucid Motors engineering leadership revealed the engineering behind their ultra-powerful electric motor design. One notable innovation is its six-pole stator, which delivers power in three phases, and helps smooth torque delivery to the powertrain.
The Lucid Motors team also found a way to improve motor efficiency. As the vehicle speed increases so does the power frequency, but this increases the resistance of the core of the round wires wrapped around the stator. This is called skin effect and it reduces the efficiency of the electrical energy to mechanical energy conversion of the motor.
Lucid engineers decided that the best means would be to provide as much surface area as possible, and therefore decided that flat wires that were carefully layered onto each other into a bespoke stator design would provide the best electromagnetic field. The flat wires are wound by machine onto a motor winding blade, which are then loaded into a rotary magazine. When the magazine is inserted into the stator body, the windings can be inserted into the stator slots and maintain the right tolerances between each winding.
Of course, there is a lot more to manufacturing a high-end powertrain for a premiere EV. For more details, check out the video above.