Meet the Maker: Hugo de Kock

Thursday, 3 June 2010

Meet the Maker is an opportunity for us to get some exclusive behind the scenes info on the Joule straight from the horse’s mouth – the horse being the talented engineers at Optimal Energy. Our third Meet the Maker profile features Hugo de Kock who is working on the motor for South Africa’s first electric vehicle.

1. To what extent are you involved with Optimal Energy and what does   your job entail?

I am a proud member of the drive system development team.  We are doing electrical motor and motor controller (power electronics and digital signal processing control boards) development, with the focus on a well packaged and optimised solution for integration into electrical vehicles, such as the Joule.  My main job is to develop the control system software for the chosen electrical motor technology and to test and verify that it is working perfectly.  I am assisting with the motor design and manufacturing aspects, as well as the design and building of testing facilities.

2. You’re working on the Joule’s motor, can you explain a bit about how it’s different to that of traditional petrol or diesel vehicles?

The electrical motor is completely different to a normal internal combustion engine (ICE).  It has a much simpler mechanical structure and contains less moving parts; therefore regular and costly maintenance is not necessary.  The electrical motor is typically 80% energy efficient (most of the energy coming from the battery is converted into driving force) and it has the ability to convert braking force back into battery charge.   The typical ICE is less than 20% energy efficient (most of the energy is converted into heat instead of driving force) and it does not have the ability to capture (regenerate) energy from braking.  The electrical motor is much quieter than an ICE.

The dynamic response is much faster than the ICE, especially in the low speed region (from pull-away until about 70km/h), i.e. the speed range that we spend most of our time in, regarding normal city driving.  The weight of the electric motor is less than the ICE.  To me, the electric motor is simply much more beautiful than the ICE in every way.

3. Environmental benefits and efficiency aside, will the driving experience of Joule differ at all from that of ordinary vehicles?

You will experience awesome acceleration from pull-away until cruising speed.   While ordinary vehicles will seem like they are having hick-ups (first gear, hick-up, second gear, hick-up, third gear, hick-up…) the electrical vehicle will just whoosh by with a smooth and continuous glide.  There is a gearbox in the electrical vehicle, but it only has one gear (like second gear), so the user would be totally unaware of this and there are never any gear changes.

The Joule will have enough power so that driving at high speed (the region between 90km/h and 135 km/h) will be pleasant and you could easily overtake cars on the highway. Pure electrical cars tend to have reduced performance at high speed, compared to ordinary vehicles, but it is a matter of choosing the power levels correctly. Electrical vehicles also tend to be short on range, given the state of the art Lithium Ion battery technology, and therefore city driving would get you much further than a high speed cruise to your holiday destination.

However, people are coming up with very clever ideas on infrastructure for charging, and the battery technology is developing all the time. Think about your first cell-phone and the one you use today:  the battery life has increased enormously, hasn’t it?  You can expect that for EVs too.

4. What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced on the Joule project?

We are working in very small teams of experts in different fields and it has been a challenge for me to absorb the enormous amount of information, while at the same time contributing and sharing my own know-how and knowledge with others.   We do not always have the budget to spend millions on small parts of the development, as many other OEMs do, and therefore we have to come up with very creative and ingenious ways of getting things done.

5. Our government recently announced its support for green technologies and industries, and its plan to develop a green national economy. As an engineer in this field, do have any thoughts or response to this?

It is absolutely critical that government on all levels (municipal, provincial and national) come to the party and pave the way to a Green South Africa.  Education is essential and the starting point:  the general public must become more aware of our bond with and responsibility to nature, from primary school all the way through to higher education the working environment.  We must realise that we are part of a global economy, where capitalism has forced us to make everything a business case where profit is essential for sustainability.  Government, parliament, green innovators and the general public must come together to find a sustainable and economically viable solution.

6. What do you love about our country and what makes you proud to be a South African?

I love the fact that we are not scared to take on big things, e.g. the 2010 World Cup.  We are extremely creative, colourful and different to other countries in such an extraordinary way. That is what makes us so interesting. I love the diversity and contrasts in our country – it is never boring to be here. We can come together as a nation, even when we have differences amongst ourselves.

7. If you could share one green tip – whether big or small – for dontbeapassenger, what would it be?

Don’t switch on all those heaters in winter and walk around the house wearing only a t-shirt!  Rather put on something warmer or cuddle under a blanket.  We do not have the kind of insulation in our houses that will keep the generated heat from the heater inside – all that cold air coming in under the doors and through the windows that don’t close properly makes the heating system totally useless.

8. What should people look forward to in the futures of Optimal Energy and Hugo de Kock?

A radical growth in size and impact of a team that will become an internationally recognised and well funded leader in the field of drive system development, with the focus on energy efficiency, cost effectiveness and robust drive system solutions for the automotive and green energy industries.