Hybrid vehicle research lab official opening set

Eaton Corp. and Western Michigan University Engineering students can now collaborate more easily on innovative ideas and research solutions for challenges that come with developing commercial and military hybrid drives.

The new CAViDs Hybrid Electric Applied Research (CHEAR) Lab in WMU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences will be officially opened in a private ceremony at the laboratory Thursday, Oct. 7.

The university sees the lab as the foundation for future academic programs in hybrid vehicle engineering research at the school.

At the event WMU students and the lab staff will give a live demonstration of the lab’s capabilities and talk about the research lab.

The lab, will be used to evaluate electric motors and other critical components and to test batteries and develop power electronics equipment.

It will be staffed by both Eaton engineers and WMU student interns who will be taught how to operate the test equipment and analyze results. WMU also will provide faculty advisers and technicians.

The new lab was designed with the intent that it be one of Michigan’s premier battery and hybrid electric vehicle drive testing facilities.

The focus on the lab will be on systems integration — looking at how well things work when they are put together in the same vehicle.

The lab will cost just over $1 million to develop and operate in its first year. Most of the funding comes from Eaton Corp.

Earlier this year, Eaton Corp. entered into a five-year agreement with Western Michigan University to invest in and jointly staff the 1,000-square-foot testing lab that will focus on hybrid drive systems for commercial and military vehicles.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Cheryl Roland, WMU