Torqeedo
| Torqeedo GmbH
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 2005 |
| Seat | Gilching , Germany |
| management |
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| Website | www.torqeedo.com |
Torqeedo is a German manufacturer of electric drive systems for boats. The company is based in Gilching in the Starnberg district and sells its products internationally. Torqeedo manufactures electric boat motors with an output range from 400 watts to 100 kilowatts (0.54 to 150 hp ).
Torqeedo is a word composition of the English terms " torque " (= torque ), and " speed " (= speed ). Torqeedo claims to be the first manufacturer to mass-produce electric outboards with integrated lithium-ion batteries .
The company is the world market leader for electric outboards. In addition to the purely battery-electric outboards, Torqeedo sells electric inboards , pod motors and serial hybrid systems for large yachts.
Torqeedo has been a subsidiary of Deutz AG since September 2017 . Around 200 people are employed at the locations in Gilching near Munich, Inning am Ammersee, Crystal Lake, Illinois (USA) and Bangkok (Thailand). In 2016 the turnover was 25 million euros.
history
Torqeedo was founded in Starnberg in 2005 by the former Gardena managers Christoph Ballin and Friedrich Böbel . The business idea arose from the strict registration restrictions for internal combustion engines on Lake Starnberg . Ballin did not get a license for a motorboat and had to drive it electrically. A market niche was recognized in the area of mass-produced electric boat motors.
In 2006 the young venture capital- financed company moved into an office building in Starnberg . At the same time, the American subsidiary Torqeedo Inc. was founded near Chicago, IL . In 2012 the company moved to Gilching, 15 km away, due to its rapid growth and lack of business premises in Starnberg.
In the beginning there were portable outboards with integrated lithium-ion batteries from 24 to 48 V, in which a brushless out-rotor motor is located in a housing directly in front of the propeller and, depending on the model, delivers an output of 0.54 to 13.6 hp. An onboard computer with GPS has been integrated since 2009 , which visualizes a large amount of information from the electric motor . Since 2013, 345 volt high-voltage motors have been produced as inboard and outboard or saildrive drives with an output of 34 or 68 hp. Based on the high-voltage system, Torqeedo also supplies a serial hybrid drive for larger yachts and commercial boat operations.
On September 27, 2017, the engine manufacturer Deutz announced the takeover of Torqeedo. The company was continued as a subsidiary of Deutz AG.
technology
Electric motors
The motors are brushless external rotor motors with rare earth magnets . They are synchronous, electrically commutated radial flux motors which, in the low-voltage models up to 10 kW, do not have their own cooling system . The low-voltage motors are housed in a housing directly in front of the propeller , so they are at the end of the outboard shaft . The power of the electric motors is transmitted to the shaft and the propeller by a planetary gear . In contrast to this, the high-voltage motors to be cooled externally are not located below the surface of the water, but are installed in the “powerhead” of the outboard motor or inside the boat for an inboard motor.
Battery technology
Torqeedo even offers lithium-ion batteries . The high-voltage systems use secondary batteries with a nominal voltage of 345 V. They were manufactured in cooperation with the US company Johnson Controls from 2013 and have a capacity of 12.8 kWh. Since the end of 2016, customized BMW i high-voltage batteries made in Germany, which are also used in the BMW i3 , have been in use. The smaller motor systems with an output of up to 10 kW use low-voltage batteries. They consist of a large number of round cells in the form factor 18650 and have a nominal voltage of 24 to 48 V. This cell shape is widely used in industry. For example, Tesla Motors also uses 18650 lithium-ion cells for the drive batteries. Torqeedo connects every single cell with a control and safety module developed in-house. This battery management system protects the cells from different discharges of the individual cells and from short circuits. This extends the service life. The high-voltage batteries require their own cooling system due to the generation of heat. All external batteries offered can also be connected in parallel in a network in order to extend the range of the drive. The accumulators are designed according to protection class IP67 , so that they are tight against temporary submersion.
Products
Torqeedo specifies an "equivalent power" for its engines, which should refer to similar combustion drives. This results in horsepower figures that are higher than the drive power provided by the electric motor. Torqeedo justifies this approach. B. advertises an electric motor with 2.72 HP (2 kW) electrical power with an "equivalent power" of 6 HP, with the better efficiency and torque of its electric drives.
Low voltage systems
The low-voltage motors from Torqeedo offer an output of 0.54 to 13.6 HP.
The smallest motor, called the Ultralight, is a 400 W kayak motor that is mainly offered for sport fishermen, but also for touring. It has an external lithium-ion battery and a remote throttle with an integrated on-board computer.
The Torqeedo Travel model with 0.68 PS (500 W) or 1.36 PS (1 kW) is advertised by Torqeedo with 1.5 or 3 PS "equivalent power" and has an integrated lithium-ion battery with up to 915 Wh Capacity. The on-board computer is located - as in all versions with a tiller - in the tiller itself. The 13 kg engine is primarily intended for sports sailors as a so-called dinghy pusher , but also as a dinghy engine .
The motors of the Cruise series introduced in 2009 are powered by an external lithium-ion, gel or AGM battery and generate 2.72 HP (2 kW), 5.44 HP (4 kW) and 13.6 HP (10 kW) ) offered. According to the manufacturer, these values correspond to the outputs of 5, 8 and 20 hp of a classic outboard motor. In 2016, the product range was expanded to include pod motors that are flanged under the boat hull. In terms of performance, they correspond to the Cruise models.
High voltage systems
In 2013, the company introduced high voltage propulsion systems under the name Deep Blue. The engines, initially available as inboard and outboard, deliver 34 HP (25 kW), 68 HP (50 kW) or 134 HP (100 kW), which Torqeedo regards as equivalent to 40, 80 or 150 HP. In addition to the outboards, inboard variants for boats with shaft drives are also available. In cooperation with the American company Johnson Controls, a suitable marine-grade high-voltage battery with 12.8 kWh was developed. Specially adapted BMW i high-voltage batteries have been in use since the end of 2016 . Several batteries can be combined to extend the range. The motors can also be used as a twin system. Loads of up to 60 tons can be moved or water-ski boats can be brought to glide. The high-voltage motors are (as of Feb. 2017) the most powerful electric boat motors from series production for the leisure sector.
A saildrive version for larger sailing yachts has been available since 2016 . It is based on the 34 hp variant of the inboard motor.
Hybrid systems
In addition to the purely battery-electric drives, Torqeedo also offers a serial hybrid system for larger yachts. Generators charge the batteries or keep their charge level as required. The range of the system can thus be increased significantly. In addition to conventional diesel generators , the batteries can also be charged using recuperation and solar energy . On the drive side, the system uses the Deep Blue motors. With a double engine, 2 × 68 PS (50 kW) are achieved, which is advertised as the equivalent total output of 160 PS.
Electromobility for boats
Electric boat drives are originally used on protected lakes. For many lakes, such as Starnberger See or Ammersee , there is only a very limited number of approvals for motor boats with internal combustion engines, but no restrictions for boats with electric drives. The constant further development of battery technology has meant that electric boat drives are an alternative today even outside of protected waterways. Especially in sensitive ecosystems such as the Antarctic and the Amazon , electric boat motors can protect the waters. The greatest benefits for the environment are in electric motors of missing emission of exhaust gases , the less noise and no risk of oil leakage.
Trivia
In the James Bond film " Specter " you can see the title character driving a dinghy across a lake powered by a Torqeedo Travel.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Diesel-Electric. Deutz joins Torqeedo. Retrieved September 27, 2017 .
- ↑ BOOTE magazine: Torqeedo announces electric inboards - motors. November 16, 2013, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Outboard, inboard and hybrid drives - Torqeedo. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ That drives the drive. Bundesverband Wassersportwirtschaft eV, accessed on February 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Dieter Wanke: Electric outboard: rapids and solar cells . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . October 26, 2013.
- ↑ 4.7 million euros for e-outboards. January 28, 2010, accessed February 28, 2017 .
- ↑ The management. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Volker Göbner: Seglerzeitung . November 1, 2012, p. 36 .
- ↑ Torqeedo unveils new products at Seawork 2014. In: Seawork International. February 12, 2014, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ a b soak up the sun. In: Welt am Sonntag . May 8, 2016, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ DEUTZ gets into electrification and takes over the electric drive specialist Torqeedo. July 22, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017 .
- ↑ Drive technology - Torqeedo. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Study: Tesla Gigafactory threatens other battery manufacturers. (No longer available online.) March 3, 2014, archived from the original on February 3, 2017 ; Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Florida Sportsman: Fishing Kayak Propulsion Systems. June 10, 2016, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Torqeedo POD motors . In: De Telegraaf . February 10, 2016.
- ↑ Torqeedo Deep Blue 80 pushes 60 tons. August 5, 2015, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Walter Wille: “boot 2015” trade fair: Here comes summer . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 16, 2015.
- ^ Torqeedo debuts new drive systems. In: TradeOnlyToday. March 9, 2016, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ^ "Deep Blue" engine: Smart electric revolution on the water. In: WORLD. July 12, 2013, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten: A symbol for the environment: the Zodiac fleet of MS HANSEATIC and MS BREMEN is equipped with Torqeedo electric motors . In: presseportal.de . December 21, 2015.