Electric Turbocharger
 

My buddies at Garret have been working on this for awhile. Nice to see Mercedes adopt it - crazy rpm’s 25,000 to 50,000 from an electric motor!

Thanks for the article.
Very interesting.
We can claim that F1 continues to improve the breed of road cars.

Yes. Very interesting. That elec motor will have to be made of tough-stuff at the temps it will see. Tiz amazing where technology is taking us (both good & bad).

Why would it see high temps if it’s not driven by exhaust? It will be cool as a cucumber. :D

Look at the cut-away drawing in the article. The electric motor resides between the exhaust driven turbo vanes and the compressor end. The exhaust is still used. The total package will run at several hundred degrees F. Even if water cooled it will still be well over 200F. It will be a balancing act between where the materials involved can run reliably and where detonation of the intake charge takes place (and a few other things).

I read the article more carefully as I thought it would be an electric motor only but here it is working in conjunction with the exhaust gases as you mentioned. So it pre-spools the turbo unit. I would have thought it would be possible to have an electric only unit by now that would work with the engine ECU supplying the correct boost for all rpm ranges and loads. :scratch2:

In another 20 years or so, it will all be a moot point. :D

The Garret supercharger can be electric only - about 10 hp or 7500 watts @ 50000+ rpm. This one is a hybrid to cut down on the electrical energy needed for full boost.

Indeed............... I'll guess we don't have 20yr until the internal combustion engine is gone for motive power.

What type of bearings Tom? I'm always amazed at the bearing life and quality they must be to endure life in turbos!