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Title Slide: Electric Vehicles

GOAL

To learn about electric vehicles, how they work, and how they are a form of sustainable transportation

Electric Vehicles

Building & Racing Your Own EV

2025-08-28_v1.0

Today’s ET Lab is going to introduce you to Electric Vehicles. Does anyone’s family own an electric vehicle?

What are the advantages of an electric vehicle? How about disadvantages?

There is a lot of talk today about moving away from gas powered cars because burning gasoline or diesel fuel produces emissions that are harmful to our environment and contribute to global warming. The most popular alternative is the electric vehicle. In fact, General Motors and many of the other major car companies are committed to moving away from gas powered vehicles and eventually only offering electric vehicles. As you can imagine this effort will require the work of many engineers. There is an awful lot of engineering that goes into making any type of car and working to replace the traditional internal combustion engine with battery power presents many engineering challenges.

(If the students started the workbook before the Intro Presentation, the engineer might discuss the answers to the workbook questions.)

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Breakout Development Team

ERIK EINSET

College: Cornell BS ’86

U. Of Minnesota PhD ’91

Major: Chemical Engineering

Industry Experience: GE, GIP – 30 years

CAROLINE GILLESPIE

College: Notre Dame ’23

Major: Mechanical Engineering

JULIAN CENTENO

College: SUNY Polytechnic Institute ’23

Major: Mechanical Engineering Technology

KELSEY FARR

College: Notre Dame ’21

Major: Electrical Engineering

Electric Vehicle�Lab Development Lead

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What are some some examples of electric vehicles?

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Trolleys
Electric city transit buses
Drones
Electric-powered boats
Electric trains and monorails

Brainstorming: �What is an Electric Vehicle?

Some less-often thought of EVs include:

When we think of electric vehicles, we tend to think of passenger cars (sedans, SUVs, etc.). �But, an electric vehicle is any vehicle that uses electric propulsion to move!

So let’s think about what an electric vehicle (or EV) is. Because Tesla is so often in news these days, we generally think of a passenger car when we hear “electric vehicle” and consider it to be a relatively recent invention. It turns out that electric vehicles have been around for quite some time. An electric vehicle is any vehicle that is powered by electricity, or uses an electric propulsion system. Here, we have listed some less-often thought of EVs:

Trolleys (like the Streetcars in New Orleans) connect to electric power lines that run above the trolley car.

There are also electric city transit buses (like those that operate in Boston) that offer a much more sustainable option than traditional busses that run on diesel fuel.

Drones are battery powered, too. Currently, there aren’t many other aircraft that are electric and this is because the batteries required to power such a heavy vehicle would be very large. One of the advantages of the internal combustion engine is that it can generate a lot of power.

Electric-powered boats represent a very small percentage of the boat market today but are expected to grow as the technology improves.

Electric trains and monorails common at airports and theme parks - including Disney World - are another type of EV.

Can anyone else think of another type of vehicle not listed here that could use electric power? (electric bikes or scooters)

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Brainstorming: �What is an Electric Vehicle?

When we think of electric vehicles, we tend to think of passenger cars (sedans, SUVs, etc.). �But, an electric vehicle is any vehicle that uses electric propulsion to move!

Some less-often thought of EVs include:

Scooter
Bike
Segway
One-wheel
RC Cars
Space Vehicles

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History of Electric Vehicles

FUN FACT

Electric-powered motors were invented in 1828 by a Hungarian man named Ányos Jedlik, and the first practical version of an electric vehicle was invented in the US in 1891. It was a 6-passenger wagon that could go up to 14 mph.

The first successful electric vehicle

The first electric motor

**If students have done pre-work assignment, then slides 5-10 will help reinforce material in the video. Otherwise, review material on slides with students as an introduction to challenge.**

As the video explained, the concept of electric-powered vehicles has been around for almost 200 years! Perhaps even more surprising is that originally EVs were even more popular than gas-powered vehicles. But, there were limitations in how far and how fast vehicles powered by electric motors could go. This was because of the battery technology available at the time. EVs also took longer to recharge and were more expensive when compared to their gasoline-powered counterparts. So, as the oil and gas industries took off and more efficient gasoline engines were developed, gas and diesel vehicles essentially completely replaced electric vehicles.

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Gas vs Electric Cars

GASOLINE

Vehicle Drive Components

ELECTRIC

Charger

Battery

Controller

Motor

Gas Tank

Carb

Smog Controls

Engine

Starter

Water Pump

Gas Pump

Oil Pump

Generator

Exhaust System

Another advantage of Electric Vehicles discussed in the video is their simplicity. This graphic has a lot of information on it, and you don’t need to understand all of the parts that are listed. The most important thing to understand is that EVs require fewer parts and less complexity than the drivetrain of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The “drivetrain” is the set of parts that facilitate the vehicle’s propulsion and motion.

[In the case of the gas powered engine, you can see it involves many different parts - you need some cooling, a starter to get the engine going, an exhaust system to treat the gasses produced when burning the fuel, a generator to recharge the battery needed for the engine starter, a fuel tank, and pumps to deliver the gas and oil to different parts of the system.

The electric vehicle is much simpler; you just need a charger, the battery itself and a motor.]

Fewer parts in an EV means less maintenance is required on the vehicle over time, as compared to and ICE vehicle. There are also financial savings for EVs because the owner does not have to purchase gas to fill up the tank of an EV! We’ll talk more about that in the next slide.

https://avt.inl.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/fsev/compare.pdf

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EV Efficiency �(miles/kWh)	Cost of Electricity (per kWh)	Fuel Economy of Gas-Powered ICE Vehicle (mpg)	Cost of Gas (per gallon)
3.5	$0.17	27	$3.12

Cost to “Fuel” EVs vs ICE Vehicles

ICE = Internal Combustion Engine

In order to compare the cost of travel for an electric vehicle versus a vehicle with an Internal Combustion Engine, we need to look at how far you can travel for a $1. We can’t use the traditional miles per gallon metric because electric vehicles don’t use gallons of gasoline. Based on an electric vehicle efficiency of 3.5 miles/kWh and the cost of electricity at [about 17] cents per kWh, an electric vehicle will travel about 20.6 miles for $1.00. Based on an average of 27 mpg for gasoline vehicles and a gasoline cost of [$3.12]/gal, the gasoline-powered vehicle will go about 8.6 miles. So, the distance that can be traveled for a fuel cost of $1.00 is more than three times as far with an electric vehicle.

But, as we know, gas prices can be more expensive, and are currently at least $3.12 per gallon. The average price of gasoline in NYC is just under $4. This means that in terms of cost, it is even cheaper to drive an electric vehicle compared to combustion engine vehicles. An EV can travel much further than an ICE vehicle per dollar spent “fueling” the car (where fuel is either electricity or gas/diesel).

It should also be noted that electricity prices vary by what part of the country you’re in, but are less than 20 cents per kWh on average.

It looks like EV would be the best choice but other factors such as ease of access (gas station vs charging station) and range (200 miles vs 600 miles depending on tank

https://avt.inl.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/fsev/compare.pdf

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a

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Characteristics of Electric Vehicle Batteries

How do EVs optimize energy?

1. Regenerative braking

When braking, the kinetic energy that was previously propelling the vehicle is now reversed, so energy is going into the electric motor, then back into the battery for later use.

2. Idle-off

The EV’s battery will turn off when the vehicle is at a stop or idling.

The characteristics of electric vehicle batteries provide additional advantages in terms of energy savings.

First, when a car is moving it has kinetic energy. When you hit the brakes, you transfer that kinetic energy into something else. In traditional gas powered cars, you transfer the kinetic energy into heat, as you slow down through friction. Electric vehicles are able to transfer the kinetic energy into another spinning generator that can recharge the car’s battery. This is called “regenerative braking” and is a good way to conserve energy.

[Regeneration of energy is not perfect. Currently, EV batteries are only able to accept about 20% of the total kinetic energy that could potentially go back into the battery when braking. This is due to the limited amount of energy the battery can accept in a short period of time.]

Second, it is very easy to turn an EV battery on and off (similar to how a light switch works, it is almost instantaneous), so you can save energy by using this idle-off feature without losing any performance.

More on regenerative braking, including the diagram in the next slide, here: https://www.delphiautoparts.com/usa/en-US/article/regenerative-braking-explained

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Regenerative Braking Explained

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Characteristics of Electric Vehicle Batteries and Charging

EV Charging Stations

Level 2 charging stations are typically 240 volts. At this voltage, it can take up to 10 hours to charge an EV battery than has been depleted. Tesla Superchargers supply 480 volts, thus charging takes much less time, usually 15-45 minutes.

Typical EV Range on a Full Battery Charge

Range depends on many factors, including battery capacity, weather conditions, vehicle design/�aerodynamics, driving speed, and more.

Nissan Leaf

150 - 215 miles

CHEVY BOLT

259 miles

BMW i4

270 - 300 miles

TESLA MODEL 3 — MODEL S

272 - 405 miles

Current Charging Station Across the US

DOE (8-25-25)

Some of the characteristics of electric vehicle batteries also present challenges, including the time it takes to recharge the battery and how long the battery lasts.

On the top here, you can see the range of a few different vehicles. There has been a big improvement in battery storage capacity with Tesla’s range now similar to that of a traditional gas powered vehicle.

Finding an electric vehicle charging station can also be an issue, as there is not yet the pervasive network of facilities that exists for gas stations. There is a government push to increase availability so over time this should improve.

The time it takes an EV battery to charge is another hurdle in EV adoption. How quickly an EV battery can be charged is based on the voltage being used for charging. It can take a 120-volt charger as long as 3 days to charge a depleted battery. On the other hand, it can take as little as 30 minutes if a 480-volt DC fast charger is used. However, 240-volt chargers are the most common, and typically take up to 12 hours for a full charge if the battery is depleted. To avoid these long charging cycles during inopportune times of the day, EV owners usually leave their vehicles plugged in overnight to charge. This way, their battery will be “topped up” each night.

Long charging times become more of an issue when traveling long distances, like on a road trip, when the EV will need to be recharged during the trip. DC fast chargers are currently the best solution to the problem of otherwise long charging times, but not all EVs can use them, and 30 minutes for a charge is still much longer than the typical 5 minutes it takes to refill a gas tank of a gas-powered vehicle. So, this is a big area for improvement for electric vehicles in the near future!

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/how-long-does-take-charge-electric-car/

If there is more interest in exploring the different factors that influence an electric vehicle’s range, check out this website about different Tesla models: https://teslike.com/

https://www.hydroquebec.com/transportation-electrification/electric-vehicles/range.html

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What Types of Batteries Are Used in Electric Vehicles?

There are 3 types of batteries most commonly used in electric vehicles:

Lithium ion
Nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH)
Lead acid

CLICK HERE

To learn about Lithium Ion Batteries

Check out this this article on Evolving Battery Technology!

Since we’ve mentioned a couple times how critical the battery is to electric vehicles, we wanted to provide you with a little more information on battery technology.

A battery is a device that we’re all very familiar with as it’s used in many devices that we use every day. Basically a battery takes chemical energy stored in the device and converts it into electrical energy. As electric vehicles have developed, 3 types of batteries have been used: Lithium Ion (which are the most common currently), Nickel-metal hydride (which you’ll be using in this lab) and Lead acid (which is the battery found in traditional gas powered cars.)

One of the things that is driving the advancement of electric vehicles is the improvement in battery technology.

Lithium Ion batteries were first developed in the 1990s and now are the most widely used rechargeable batteries in electric vehicles and many other electrical devices. They have a longer lifespan than Nickel-metal and lead acid batteries and are also generally smaller and lighter, which is a big advantage when trying to build an efficient electric vehicle. Another big advantage of lithium ion batteries is they don’t lose their charge when not in use as some other rechargeable batteries can.

ISSUES/Challenges: Lithium is a limited resource

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Battery Chemistries

Choosing a battery chemistry depends on what properties are most critical:

Energy density: How much energy can be stored per weight or volume?
Non-Rechargeable or Rechargeable: How many times can it cycle?
Safety: How much risk is there for a fire?
Environmental friendliness: Can it be recycled?
Cost & Availability of critical materials like Cobalt and Nickel

Traditional car battery

Battery in your ET kit

Commonly used battery type

Small electronics ‘coin’ battery

EV and Storage batteries

Research into battery chemistries is very active with groups trying to make batteries stronger, longer lasting, and more environmentally friendly. Deciding which chemistry is best for an application depends on the application. For example, an EV battery system is best if it can allow the car to run for a long distance without charging but also can be recharged many times. The chart above shows some common battery chemistries used for all kinds of applications. You’ll see that the Li ion based chemistries have a lot of favorable features such as high energy density (lots of energy in a small volume), high voltage, and can be recharged hundreds or thousands of times. Of course there’s also a cost element in deciding on which battery to use in a design. Take a look at the energy density of gasoline and how it compares with Li-ion batteries. You can see that gasoline has a far higher energy density, which is why it works so well for long distance transportation applications.

THings to look for:

More abundant Resource
Does not have a negative impact on planet
Good energy density
Low cost

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How Do Rechargeable Batteries Work?

Example of Lithium ion battery

This slide shows you what a Lithium-Ion battery looks like. Battery technology is pretty complicated and involves material science and chemical engineering, so we’ll just discuss the main differences between charging and discharging.

When discharging, the battery provides power to the load (which could be a motor or your cell phone) via electrons flowing from the negative terminal (anode side) of the battery to the positive terminal (cathode side) of the battery. At the same time, positively charged lithium ions (Li+) move from the negative anode to the positive cathode through the porous electrolyte in the middle of the battery (see the red arrows showing the Li+ ions moving through the electrolyte in center of figure). As long as Li ions keep flowing, electrons will continue to flow, providing an electric current to power the load. When there are no more Lithium ions to flow, the battery is fully discharged and will have to be connected to a power source to be recharged.

When the battery is being charged, the power source connected to the battery causes the electrons that have been accumulated in the cathode of the battery to flow back to the anode,while the Li+ ions move from the cathode to the anode back through the electrolyte.

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Battery Safety

Lithium ion batteries power everyday tech such as phones, laptops, e-bikes, scooters, etc. They are powerful but can be dangerous if not handled properly.
When a battery overheats rapidly (over 212 deg-F and rising fast) it can cause thermal runaway.
As a result of these high temperatures, thermal runaway can result in:

Battery swelling
Battery venting
Smoke
Fire

Some safety tips to avoid thermal runaway are:

Use the correct charger for your device
Keep devices out of extreme heat
Don't use damaged or swollen batteries
Unplug once fully charged

Click here for more information on battery safety

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What You’ll be Working on in Today’s Lab

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Lab Overview

Your group will build your very own electric vehicle! Imagine you are a team of electrical engineers.

Consider these categories during the Engineering Process to create an electric vehicle that meets one or several of these design features:

Speed
Safety & Durability
Resource Efficiency
Aesthetic Appeal

Click HERE �for more information on the Engineering Design Process!

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The Components for Building Your EV

STUDENT KIT ITEMS
1 kit: 3 students
Item	Quantity	Photo	Item	Quantity	Photo
Gear Kit Axel (2) Belt (2) Pulley (2) Gear (3) Wheels (4) DC Motor (1) Motor Mount (1)	1		Paper Roll	1
			Coffee Straws	2
			Regular Straw	1
			Propeller	1
			AA Batteries	2
Popsicle Sticks	25		Jumper Wires	2
Battery Holder	1

TEACHER’S KIT
Materials will be distributed throughout the class.
Item/Link	Quantity	Photo
Masking Tape	1
Double Battery Holders	3
Jumper Wires	6
Motors	3

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CLASSROOM EXTRAS
Item/Link	Distribution	Photo
Hot Glue Guns	1 for Every Other Lab Group
Hot Glue Sticks	~2 Sticks per Lab Group

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SPEED CHALLENGE

Which EV can travel the fastest across a flat race track or a complex obstacle course?

SAFETY AND DURABILITY

This vehicle functions after �a crash and/or �drop test

AESTHETIC APPEAL

This vehicle body looks like a real EV in terms of color, artistry, detail, and aesthetics

MASS AND MATERIALS

This vehicle minimizes mass and uses recyclable materials

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Before starting the official challenges here is a general overview of how the competition will work!

Cumulative Challenge

Take the weight of each EV
Decide which challenge(s) you want to enter your EV in (an EV can qualify for more than one)
Keep track of your score in each race

First place: 5 pts
Second place: 3 pts
Third place: 1 pt

Determine your final cumulative score

Hint:

You’re allowed to enter multiple challenges, but it’s smart to focus on one main goal in the design process!

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Increased Speed and Mechanical Power

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Challenge #1: Speed

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For this challenge, you can either create a flat track in an open hallway, or design your own custom obstacle course!

Speed Challenge

Release your EV at the start and stop the stopwatch when the car reaches the 1 m mark
Record the time it took your car to reach the 1 m mark
Repeat these steps, stopping the time when the car reaches the 3 m and 5 m marks

Create an obstacle course using books, binders, rulers, etc (only uphill/downhill obstacles)
Release the EV and stop the stopwatch once the car has completed the course
Record the time it took your car to complete the course

Obstacle Course

Flat Track

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Propulsion Option: Gears

EV with Gears

NOTE Teams will have to optimize the system for speed and torque. One challenge will be a race. Another challenge may involve rolling over a few bumps (flat rulers) in the race

GEAR RATIO =

# of Driven Gear Teeth (Output)

# of Teeth on Driving Gear (Input)

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Propulsion Option: Pulley

EV with Pulley and EV with Gears

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https://www.makerspaces.com/propeller-car/

Propulsion Option: Propeller

Some ideas to spark your imagination:

Check out this Propeller Boat!

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Increased Speed and Mechanical Power

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Challenge #2: Safety and Durability

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This challenge simulates real-world crash testing and encourages students to consider impact forces, cushioning, and safety design! Students will modify their EV to survive a car crash!

Safety Challenge

Place your EV 1 meter from a wall
Release the EV and let it crash into the wall
Observe the car’s damage and the status of the “person” riding in the EV
Increase the distance (2m, 3m, 4m) and repeat the process until the “person” flies out of the car or until the car reaches terminal damage

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Build a Car Seat That Can Withstand a Collision

You can modify your car design to create a seat that will protect a “person” during a crash!

The following materials are examples of what can be used to create a seat & airbag:

Cardboard
Paper
Cotton balls
Pipe cleaners
Rubber bands
Foam
Anything found in classroom

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Increased Speed and Mechanical Power

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Challenge #3: Resource Efficiency

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Resource Efficiency Challenge

In this challenge, students will be judged on how minimalistic and eco-friendly their EVs are!

Take the weight of your EV
Make a list of every material used
Highlight the recyclable materials

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Minimize Mass, Materials, & Cost

Use minimal materials to create a functional vehicle that minimizes costs!

Plastic bottles
Recycled paper/cardboard
Paper towel tubes

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Challenge #4: Aesthetic Appeal

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Runway Challenge

This challenge will have your EV compete in a runway fashion show! Line up your cars and watch them glide down the aisle in style.

Line up your EV at the starting point of the "runway"
Start up your EV
Watch closely as each EV drives down the aisle — how smooth is the glide? How bold is the look?

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Decorate your EV

Use art supplies or origami to add aesthetic appeal to your car, boat, or air based vehicle!

Use any art supplies to make your EV unique

or

Research paper bodies online
Scale the body to the size and shape of your unique EV
Trim and assemble the body onto the EV

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The Components for Building Your EV

STUDENT KIT ITEMS
1 kit: 3 students
Item	Quantity	Photo	Item	Quantity	Photo
Gear Kit Axel (2) Belt (2) Pulley (2) Gear (3) Wheels (4) DC Motor (1) Motor Mount (1)	1		Paper Roll	1
			Coffee Straws	2
			Regular Straw	1
			Propeller	1
			AA Batteries	2
Popsicle Sticks	25		Jumper Wires	2
Battery Holder	1

TEACHER’S KIT
Materials will be distributed throughout the class.
Item/Link	Quantity	Photo
Masking Tape	1
Double Battery Holders	3
Jumper Wires	6
Motors	3

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CLASSROOM EXTRAS
Item/Link	Distribution	Photo
Hot Glue Guns	1 for Every Other Lab Group
Hot Glue Sticks	~2 Sticks per Lab Group

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Brainstorming Examples

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Prototyping Process

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Testing Process

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Continue to Explore

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Continue to Explore

IF YOU LIKED TODAY’S ACTIVITY, YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN THESE TOPICS:

Electric and hybrid vehicles
Vehicle design
Energy storage — batteries
Solar energy
Sustainable transportation
Sustainable energy

ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES RELEVANT TO TODAY’S ELECTRIC VEHICLE ACTIVITY:

Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering
Energy Systems Engineering

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Thank you!

Any text here?

Follow up info here?