Launched in 2019, Page-Roberts is an innovation startup aiming to dramatically upscale EV efficiencies with engineering solutions that deliver design elegance. And now they’ve revealed a patented design concept for an EV with world beating efficiency, releasing the potential for 30 per cent greater range for any given battery size.
The innovation positions the battery between the front row seats and a second row of rear-facing seats. This concept puts a vertical battery stack in a torsion box arrangement at the center of a small hatchback, splitting the two rows of seating. The battery looks to be roughly half the height of the vehicle, and to prevent it interfering with rear-passenger legroom, the rear seats face rearward. The battery pack is angled to better fit between reclined seats.
This arrangement is far more compact than standard EV battery configurations, and offers the exciting potential for a lower, more aerodynamic vehicle with a standard wheelbase. The resulting vehicle will be relatively light and roomy, more streamlined, and up to 30 per cent more efficient, according to Page-Roberts. This offers the potential for either an extended range or a smaller battery. The reduced scale also means manufacturing costs are up to 36 per cent lower.
The absence of batteries under the floor also offers great design freedom, with the potential to produce lower height designs, giving a unique solution for sleek and sporty 4-seat vehicles.
Page-Roberts CEO Freddy Page-Roberts says: “the skateboard arrangement has become the mainstay of most EVs. But this results in taller vehicles with increased aerodynamic losses and energy consumption especially at motorway speeds, extra structure required to protect against impact, and a longer wheelbase to account for the battery. The increased size and weight dramatically inhibit range. By simply moving the location of the battery pack, we have come up with a much more efficient solution”.
This simple architecture could make EV easier to adopt, within constant interior roominess for a given car length and height.
