The student team Electric Superbike Twente from Enschede has presented their new racing motorbike. The engine, called Delta-XE, is the result of a year of designing and building. Despite the corona crisis, the students of Twente University and Saxion University managed to finish the engine before the start of the racing season.
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The new engine is especially more powerful and reliable than last year’s model. By developing last year’s design further, the electric motor has much more power in the same size, from 150 to 200 hp. This should enable the motor to reach a top speed of 300 km/h! The engine can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds. Like every year, a lot of improvements have been made in the area of safety. For example, the entire high voltage system is contained in one battery pack. This makes it safer and easier to work on the bike. Charging has also been standardised and made more user-friendly. The motor can now be charged with a CCS plug. The same plug that is used for a Tesla, for example. The bike was built with the indispensable help and expertise of 70 partners, most of whom sponsored parts and money.
Ultimate goal: beating motoGP
This brings Electric Superbike Twente another step closer to their ultimate goal: beating the motoGP with a fully electric race bike. By showing that electric mobility is not only sustainable, but can also be extremely cool and spectacular, Electric Superbike Twente wants to inspire more people to switch to new sustainable techniques. By showing that things can be done differently, they want to make racing ‘future-proof’ and preserve it for future generations.
Battery delivers no less than 800 Volts
The new engine is about the same weight as last year’s, but has more battery cells. The number of cells has been increased to 576, which together provide 13.5 kWh of energy. This is comparable to about 34 electric bikes! The battery pack weighs about 80 kilos, a large part of the total weight of the bike. The increase in power compared to last year is possible because the battery pack now supplies no less than 800 volts. More power also means more cooling. Additional cooling fins on the housing of the electric motor and two different cooling systems should help to dissipate the heat.
Race calendar
The races that were on the calendar have been postponed for the time being due to the corona crisis. In early September, a race in Hengelo (Gelderland) is planned. A race where the team has had a steady place in the starting line-up for several years now. This year, the team hopes to occupy two places on the starting grid with two engines. For the future, the team is busy setting up a racing championship for prototype electric motors, the ERRA. The team hopes that this international championship will complete the calendar next racing season.
Support the team!
Besides building and testing the new engine, the current team is also very busy recruiting the next team. The fifth team, which will take over in September, will do a lot of testing and optimising to make the two bikes even better. This will bring Electric Superbike Twente one step closer to their ultimate goal: beating MotoGP.
Would you like to help the team realise their dream? Here you can donate a simple amount: https://www.steunutwente.nl/project/est-2021. Do it!
Photos under the reference Sebastiaan Bors.
