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Hybrid Electric UTV

Project Idea

Our client, Exergi Predictive, predictive software solutions for energy management of military vehicles. They were looking to showcase their solutions to the United States Department of Defense and needed help with prototyping a solution.

They approached us to help build the vehicle platform, which would be used to demonstrate their software to the DoD.

Concept

Based on what we learned through benchmarking, we selected a Light Off-Highway Vehicle (Bobcat 2200) as the base vehicle. The vehicle was to be primarily driven by a 15kW Electric Motor. The diesel engine, which came originally with the Bobcat, would be utilized as an on-board generator to recharge the battery and provide extended range.

Outcome

JKV successfully engineered and built the vehicle, which was demonstrated to military personnel at the Texas A&M campus in June of 2023.

Some of the key tasks in the build include:

Conversion to the electric drive system, which includes a bespoke charging and power transmission setup that utilizes the original diesel engine of the Bobcat 2200.
Designing and building of the electronics - battery module, battery management, vehicle control unit (VCU), etc.
Programming of the vehicle, powertrain, and battery control system, designed to communicate with the client's software.
Added sensors throughout the vehicle to gather requested data for the client. (wheel speed, manifold pressure, intake air temperature, etc.)
Dash display and driver interface.

What's Next?

We are supporting demos of the vehicle's technologies as requested by our client, such as the GVSETS in Detroit back in August of 2023.

We also wonder if this type of a vehicle could find interest in the civilian industry as well (farms or recreational?).

Learn More

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