Williams Wants to Make It Easier to Produce Electric Cars

An EV chassis developed by Williams Advanced Engineering could be the future of EVs.

Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) is looking to reimagine how electric cars are designed and constructed with this new chassis, called the FW-EVX. It’s designed to make electric vehicles lighter, safer, and greener, while offering longer range and better performance. Basically, the FW-EVX is a single, scalable platform that features several innovations in battery pack design, cooling systems, and lightweight structures.

The concept made its debut at this year’s Low Carbon Vehicle Show, and Williams says its engineers have developed a highly automated, near-zero waste process that is being implemented to manufacture carbon fiber-reinforced suspension components on the platform, providing up to 40-percent weight reduction over a conventional aluminum wishbone.

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The company is also showcasing the process of forming high-strength 3D structures from 2D materials. In the case of the concept chassis, it has created an exoskeleton for a battery module.

The potential here is that automakers could purchase the chassis from Williams and add their own electric motors and battery packs, while filling in the other necessary components to create a car – such as the interior, body, and electronics. But with a chassis that’s ready to accept all those components for an electric vehicle, it cuts out a lot of research and development costs.

“This represents a new direction for Williams’ advanced engineering business, as its own R&D team has developed the proprietary innovations and has submitted patents for a number of the inventions,” said Craig Wilson, Williams Advanced Engineering managing director. “We believe there is a high potential business opportunity here, and are excited to see where this could take us.”

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