Horse Powertrain, a joint venture between Renault Group and Geely, has introduced a new range-extender powertrain that burns methanol. The D20 Methanol is designed as a generator for battery-electric vehicles, using compact axial-flux motors to keep the package small.
The powertrain weighs 375 pounds and can produce up to 141 horsepower. Horse claims its axial-flux motors are 46 percent shorter than comparable radial-flux motors while delivering 63 percent more power. The company says the fuel-to-energy conversion ratio is 47 percent, meaning 5.2 gallons of methanol can recharge a 40-kilowatt-hour battery.
Horse Powertrain’s design saves space by mounting motors directly to the engine’s crankshaft. Axial-flux motors stack rotor and stator as discs, creating a pancake shape. Traditional radial-flux motors are cylindrical and larger, which limits packaging options in tight engine bays.
The D20 uses a yokeless design with two rotors surrounding a single stator. That arrangement helps shrink the overall width while maintaining power output. Horse says the motor achieves 96.4 percent electrical efficiency, and it takes about 2.1 kilowatt-hours of methanol to produce 1 kilowatt-hour of electrical energy.
Methanol offers a liquid fuel that’s easier to store than hydrogen and has a higher energy density than batteries alone. Horse’s focus on axial-flux motors signals a shift toward more compact electric drive units, something that could benefit pure EVs as well.
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The D20 Methanol meets both European and Chinese emissions regulations. Fortune Zhao, Horse Powertrain’s CTO, said: “The Horse D20 Methanol is a staging ground for a range of cutting-edge technologies to deliver a powertrain of unparalleled compactness and efficiency. This can be seen in our use of an axial flux motor to achieve the necessary width and volumetric power density for the unit, marking one of the first uses of the technology in a mass-market automotive powertrain.”
The engine features a high-energy ignition system that enables ultra-lean methanol combustion. Horse has developed several powertrain types aimed at improving combustion efficiency. While the D20 Methanol is designed primarily for markets where methanol infrastructure exists, the underlying axial-flux technology could find its way into other regions and vehicle types.
They have made the D20 Methanol to work with existing methanol infrastructure. It can be used in battery-electric vehicles to extend their range.
The company is working on other powertrain technologies. Horse Powertrain is focused on making its powertrains more efficient and compact.
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