Modular electric drive kit

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Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess presents some MEB concept vehicles from the ID.family in Geneva 2018

The modular electric drive kit (formerly also the modular electrification kit ), MEB for short , sometimes also casually, but not in accordance with the official name, referred to as the modular electrical kit , is a kit system for electric cars that has been developed at Volkswagen AG since 2015 .

Volkswagen uses this term to describe its implementation of the “skateboard concept”, in which the drive battery is placed in a stable frame between the axles in the underbody and the electric motor and power electronics are attached to the front and / or rear axles. As with other platforms for automobiles , different bodies can be built on it.

Purpose and direction

The MEB was developed as the successor to the modular transverse matrix ( MQB ) used at VW for combustion vehicles , with which the company also pursued the goal of improving efficiency and flexibility in vehicle construction . The same should be achieved with the MEB, taking into account the special requirements of electromobility . This should help to reduce production costs and to be able to manufacture electric cars for the mass market. The MEB is not intended to replace the MQB, but to complement it.

The modularity and scalability of the MEB are of particular importance : The MEB is suitable for building many vehicle classes , from small cars to SUVs and vans . The MEB makes it possible to install a different number of battery modules for a car's drive battery. This means that cheaper vehicle variants can be offered with a lower range and more expensive ones with a greater range .

Areas of application

While it is possible to build electric cars on the basis of the MQB, which is optimized for internal combustion engines , only purely electric cars are planned on the basis of the MEB.

At the beginning of 2019 it was reported that VW was also offering the MEB to competitors and would thus like to establish the technology as the industry standard for electric cars.

features

General

All electric cars from Volkswagen (VW) that were designed up to 2016 ( e-Golf , e-up! ) Were based on existing platforms for vehicles with internal combustion engines. In contrast, younger electric cars from the VW Group that use the MEB, such as the ID.family , are characterized by the following features:

  • The wheelbase of MEB-based vehicles is larger and the overhangs are shorter.
  • The drive battery is installed flat in the floor between the front and rear axles .
  • This leads to a lower center of gravity , a more balanced weight distribution and thus better driving dynamics .
  • The seating position of the vehicle occupants is slightly higher.
  • The space in the interior is somewhat larger, as conventional components such as the combustion engine, transmission , cardan tunnel , fuel tank and exhaust system are omitted.
  • The electric drive motor (s) sit directly on the driven axles, which saves space and further lowers the center of gravity.
  • The MEB is internet and update capable.

Vehicle electronics

The MEB forms the basis for a newly developed end-to-end electronic architecture at VW, which is referred to as "E³", and for the " vw.OS " operating system , with which new mobility services and assistance systems can be established. With the "E3" architecture, the large number of control units previously required in the vehicle electronics are to be combined into a central computer level. This should go hand in hand with a significant increase in computing power that is necessary to enable automated driving (levels 3 and 4).

Battery and charging technology

MEB battery technology has the following features:

  • The drive battery can be charged with direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC). The maximum possible DC charging power on the vehicle side or how many phases can be used on the vehicle side during AC charging depends on the specific equipment variant of the vehicle.
    • The drive battery can be charged quickly: With direct current, 22 to 125 k W are currently  possible via CCS .
    • With alternating current (via type 2 standard ) a maximum of 16 A can be charged per phase  . A maximum charging power of 3.7 kW is possible in single-phase (with mains voltage common in Europe ) , just under 7.4 kW in two-phase and 11 kW in three-phase .
  • The drive battery consists of several battery modules (for the ID.3 up to twelve modules). Several (currently 24) lithium-ion battery cells are encapsulated in each module . Pouch cells or prismatic cells can be used as designs , but not cylindrical cells. The chemical ratio of nickel , manganese and cobalt is currently six to two to two, so these are NMC-622 battery cells. The cells are supplied by LG Chem and Samsung . The maximum voltage of the battery system is 408  V . The 12-volt direct voltage on - board network is fed from the drive battery via a DC / DC converter .
  • The battery housing and its collision protection are made of aluminum . A crash frame is integrated in the housing, which protects the battery in particular, but also the entire vehicle in the event of an accident .
  • The battery system has a cooling system for the purpose of thermal management for the battery cells; A heat pump is optionally available for this purpose , which is intended to increase the overall efficiency and thus the range. A battery management system is also integrated.
  • The energy flows between the battery system and the electric motor are managed by power electronics . On the one hand, it functions as an inverter to convert the DC voltage from the battery into AC voltage for the drive motor. On the other hand, it operates as a rectifier to aid in recuperation from the engine in the overrun mode generated AC voltage to reconvert back to DC power and to charge the battery; thereby the part of kinetic energy to be recovered.
  • The battery system for the ID.3 was developed in Braunschweig and is also manufactured there.

vehicles

VW ID.3 , first production vehicle with the MEB

VW uses the MEB platform for vehicles from various corporate brands, but also offers it to other manufacturers for their vehicles. In the summer of 2019, cooperations were agreed with the small series manufacturer e.GO Mobile and Ford .

Audi

Cupra

Seat el-Born (concept vehicle)

Škoda Auto

Škoda Vision iV (concept vehicle)

Volkswagen

VW ID. Buggy (concept vehicle)

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Youtube film: The modular electric drive kit . Volkswagen: E-mobility without compromise (video). volkswagen-newsroom.com. 20th December 2018.
  2. ↑ a b c d e electric car: e-mobility from VW | Volkswagen Austria. Retrieved March 20, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b VW development deals “around 40 percent with the ID models”. In: ecomento. Thomas Langenbucher, January 8, 2019, accessed September 15, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Electric drive: components and functions. ADAC, February 28, 2019, accessed on September 15, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b The modular electric drive kit (MEB). Volkswagen AG , 2019, accessed on September 1, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Sebastian Schaal: VW opens electric platform for the competition. In: Edison by Handelsblatt. January 30, 2019, accessed August 26, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Joachim Hentschel: The kit for e-mobility. Volkswagen AG , February 2017, accessed on August 26, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Electric cars of the future: The ID family. Retrieved March 20, 2018 .
  9. ↑ a b volkswagen.at: Start of a new era. Volkswagen at the 40th Vienna Motor Symposium. In: ecarandbike.com. Team-i Zeitschriftenverlag, Korneuburg , May 20, 2019, accessed on June 12, 2020 .
  10. ^ Claas Berlin: E / E architectures. Fresh cell treatment. In: cat-it.com. Media-Manufaktur, Pattensen, April 1, 2019, accessed on June 12, 2020 .
  11. ↑ a b Briefly explained: Core component for a new era - the battery system. In: Volkswagen Newsroom. December 5, 2019, accessed January 1, 2020 .
  12. ↑ VW explains new electric car battery system. In: ecomento. Thomas Langenbucher, December 24, 2019, accessed on January 1, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Gerd Stegmaier, Annette Bender-Napp, Clemens Hirschfeld, Marcel Sommer: Modular electrical construction kit (MEB) for VW e-cars: E-car technology for millions at diesel prices. In: auto motor und sport . October 19, 2018, accessed January 9, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Charging an electric car | Electromobility. Volkswagen AG , accessed on January 9, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Sebastian Schaal: Volkswagen announces ID.3 Pro Power / software problems. In: electrive.net. December 19, 2019, accessed January 9, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Calculation of the maximum AC charging power that can be achieved in the vehicle : single-phase: 1 × 16  A × 230  V = 3.68  k W ; two-phase: 2 × 16 A × 230 V = 7.36 kW; three-phase (three-phase current): 3 × 16 A × 230 V = 11.04 kW ≈ 16 A × 400 V × √3 . Charging losses always occur during charging, which means that a (small) part of the electrical energy invested in charging does not end up in the battery, but is lost - primarily in the form of heat loss  .
  17. ↑ Friedhelm Greis: Ford obviously wants to use VW's electrical platform. In: golem.de. July 6, 2019, accessed August 26, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Audi Q4 e-tron concept (2019). Retrieved August 24, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron concept (2020). Retrieved August 24, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Cupra el-Born (2021): Seat turns the VW ID.3 into a GTI. In: motor1.com. July 8, 2020, accessed July 9, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Skoda Enyaq (2021): Skoda's first electric SUV. In: auto motor und sport . June 29, 2020, accessed July 3, 2020 .
  22. ↑ a b c New VW ID.4: Electric Tiguan comes in 2021. In: auto motor und sport . June 18, 2020, accessed July 2, 2020 .
  23. ↑ ID. Family continues to grow: Study in Shanghai shows the electric full-size SUV of the future. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
  24. ↑ VW ID.1 - 11,000 euros, 250 km range: This is the new mini-Stromer from VW. In: Focus Online . July 2, 2020, accessed July 2, 2020 .