All-new Megane E-TECH Electric: road-trip to the heart of innovations - Episode 4
Episode 4
An electric motor with two patented innovations for even greater performance
For nearly 125 years, Renault has been constantly seeking to innovate. From the direct drive gearbox in 1899 to the E-TECH hybrid motor in 2020, the brand has constantly found ways of giving its customers access to the ingenious designers of its in-house inventors. The All-new Megane E-TECH Electric – the first of Renault’s Nouvelle Vague – sees Renault still innovating. More than 300 patents have been lodged for the design of the vehicle and its platform, of which we have selected seven to showcase over the summer period as we head off on a summer road-trip with Jean-Baptiste Nicolet, a.k.a. TheiCollection. In this fourth episode, we will find out how Renault engineers designed an engine that is both efficient and compact by way of an innovative oil cooling system for the electric motor.
Join Jean-Baptiste Nicolet, host of the TheiCollectionYouTube channel, as he takes us on a road-trip on board the All-new Renault Megane E-TECH Electric, journeying through a selection of innovative features that gave rise to a number of patents. In this fourth episode, we joined him for the last few kilometres of motorway heading to Deauville.
On this stretch of motorway, Jean-Baptiste focused on the car’s dynamic performance. He put the power of the 220 hp engine to the test and admitted that he was blown away by its instantaneous acceleration and driveability. He got in touch with Fabrice, the Head of Renault’s e-technology work unit, to find out how the engineers managed to make this compact hatchback a genuine road car that can deliver brisk linear acceleration over long periods of accelerator operation. Fabrice explained that the All-new Megane E-TECH Electric’s powertrain offers groundbreaking performance thanks to its oil cooling system, which features two patented innovations.
Electric motors must have an excellent cooling system in order to be efficient. We therefore worked with our colleagues in both Japan and Cléon, France, to develop two patented innovations. The first of those patents covers the oil cooling system for our wound rotor synchronous motor. We fitted injectors in strategic places to splash the electric wound rotor motor while simultaneously cooling both the rotor and the stator. The second patented innovation covers a clever technique that enables us to harness the rotor’s momentum, using a ring gear system to accentuate stator cooling by projecting oil towards the heads.
Key to harnessing the power of the New Megane E-TECH Electric's engine on long motorway journeys, its cooling system is far from being the latest innovation uncovered by Jean-Baptiste. When he arrived in Deauville, he knew that he had not reached the end of his discoveries.
Tune into the next episode for more…
Thanks to the city of Deauville for its collaboration for the filming of this episode.
Find the other episodes of the series
All-new Mégane E-TECH Electric: road-trip to the heart of innovation
All-new Megane E-TECH Electric: delving into the heart of innovation
All-new Megane E-TECH Electric: delving into the heart of innovation
All-new Megane E-TECH Electric: road-trip to the heart of innovations - Episode 5
All-new Megane E-TECH Electric: road-trip to the heart of innovations - Episode 6
