A set of new patent filings have just been found by Dennis Chung over at Motorcycle.com, showing a new, liquid-cooled electric motor in the works.
The brand interested in the invention? Why, Zero Motorcycles, home to the world’s most adaptable motorcycle and, soon, a heart with a fresh take on air-cooled, zero-emission scoots.
To be fair, Zero’s idea for liquid-cooled electric power isn’t new. 2021 saw Energica partnering with Mavel for a liquid-cooled motor that boasted a 10kg weight reduction; similarly, Chung tells us Harley-Davidson’s rebellious electric brand, LiveWire, shows off liquid cooling for her offerings (though the company charges a far higher premium for their bikes and doesn’t advertise their use of this tech as openly).
The blueprint images in this patent use Zero’s SR/F to house the concept; a dual shell – inner and outer – wraps up the heart of the electric motor, with coolant injected between the two shells to allow heat to pass “through the inner shell to the coolant fluid, which is circulated by a pump to a radiator where the heat gets released to the outside environment.”
Protruding nubbins improve the heat transfer both by increasing surface area, as well as “adding turbulence to the flow of the coolant between the two shells.”
“The patent further describes how the nubs could be concentrated in areas requiring more cooling,” continues Chung.
The design was apparently filed in 2021, but only made publicly available last week, further fuelling the idea that Zero’s got major interest in becoming an electric powertrain supplier (like Energica).
Should Zero be successful in this patented project, future partnerships like their time with Polaris and the chucking of their powertrain in a glider could well be a regular occurrence.
Do you think that Zero’s motorcycles would benefit from a new style of liquid-cooled motor?