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This Company is ‘REEinventing' the Wheel With Its Revolutionary EV Powertrain

In recent years, electric vehicle architectures have been evolving at a rapid pace as we’ve seen more and more carmakers releasing modular EV platforms that optimize weight and space. Still, this Israeli company is taking those attributes to a whole new level, eliminating the motors from the chassis and integrating them into the wheels.
REEcorner 6 photos
Photo: REE Automotive
REEcornerREE Modular PlatformREE Modular PlatformREE Modular PlatformREE Modular Platforms
Although the technology was available as far back as the early 1900s, manufacturers have only recently jumped on the EV bandwagon.

They started with existing chassis, which were modified to house electric motors and battery packs. They progressively improved those designs to the point where we now see dedicated scalable architectures like VW’s MEB, Hyundai’s E-GMP, or Renault’s CMF-EV, just to name a few.

What they have in common is an integrated battery pack that’s part of the chassis structure, which provides mode usable space and one or multiple electric motors that sit on either axle.

However, REE Automotive is planning to reinvent the wheel (both literally and figuratively) with their visionary platforms using in-wheel-mounted electric powertrains.

REEcorner
Photo: REE Automotive
Inspired by the Hino FlatFormer concept, the revolutionary REEcorner technology integrates a fully sprung high rpm electric motor with a built-in inverter, multi-ratio highly efficient transmission, and a control unit into the arch of each wheel.

Apart from these components, the REEcorner also houses brake and steer-by-wire systems. This means that each wheel has its own electric-powered caliper with adaptive regeneration; the steering is provided by individual SBW units that require no connection between the wheels and provides endless possibilities for all-wheel-steering.

Moreover, a preemptive maintenance AI unit also housed in each wheel continuously monitors the drivetrain and detects any anomalies - like increased temperature or vibration - that could result in system failure.

Using machine learning, this unit can make parameter changes by itself, increasing the durability of the components and exponentially reducing maintenance costs.

The suspension subsystem developed with the help of Japanese experts KYB is fully independent, compact, and highly customizable to fit the needs of a wide range of vehicles; it’s integrated into the wheel well too.

REE Modular Platform
Photo: REE Automotive
Like other EV platforms, the battery packs are integrated into the architecture, fitted under the floor, as part of the chassis’ structure.

This results in an extremely spacious platform that can be easily scaled up or down and, more importantly, makes the development process more cost-effective. Maintenance costs are also exponentially reduced due to the lower number of moving parts and the AI units mentioned above.

Considering all these attributes, REE’s innovative technologies have the potential to revolutionize mobility in a far more dramatic manner than any existing architecture.

Commercial vehicles should be our priority for electrification since they spend far more time in traffic than personal cars, and this is the segment where this technology is a potential game-changer.

The unprecedented customizability offered by this architecture will allow carmakers to build smaller vans, trucks, or buses that offer the same cabin and cargo space as conventional-cassis-based vehicles.

REE Modular Platform
Photo: REE Automotive
REE offers five types of modular platforms that can be used as building blocks for vehicles that range from inner-city cars with a weight of up to 1.8-tons (3,600 lbs) to medium-duty truck alternatives that can accommodate up to 7 tons (14,000 lbs).

These platforms can also be used on future autonomous vehicles providing simple integration using the CANopen system and are fully compatible with the industry’s most advanced ADAS interfaces.

The manufacturer has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the development and manufacturing of electric commercial vehicles for global markets with Indian automotive conglomerate Mahindra Group.

This signals the first step on an exciting path for automotive development, and it will be interesting to see more carmakers adopting REE’s revolutionary architecture which is guaranteed to revolutionize mobility in the coming years.
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About the author: Vlad Radu
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Vlad's first car was custom coach built: an exotic he made out of wood, cardboard and a borrowed steering wheel at the age of five. Combining his previous experience in writing and car dealership years, his articles focus in depth on special cars of past and present times.
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