EVC Projects
2025-2026
The Electric Vehicle Club is a student-run organization that focuses on giving all members hands-on engineering experience through EV-related projects. Members get to contribute to a variety of different project options and get the opportunity to test out their designs. Our flagship event each year is the EV Grand Prix, which takes place at the Purdue Grand Prix Track in early to mid-April. While electric go-karts are one of the main focuses and draws to the club, EVC also works on several other EV projects.
Something that makes our club unique is our multi-project organization which allows us to cater to many different student interests! We are excited to announce this year’s project lineup including a new electric motor controller project, a continued hovercraft project, three electric go-karts, an autonomous go-kart, an electric motorcycle conversion, and Lithium battery development! More information about each project is described below.
Electric Karting Team
The karting team builds electric racing go-karts to compete in Purdue's EV Grand Prix and additional exhibition races in the fall. We assemble and maintain parts, create wiring harnesses, and collect data on kart performance to maximize our speed and efficiency. Members learn CAD software, circuitry, data acquisition and analysis, and mechanical maintenance skills to build the fastest kart on the track.
Battery Design Team
Battery team is focused on developing and testing custom battery packs for our various projects. This includes Cell selection and characterization, Case design and fabrication, Custom BMS design and integration, along with testing in all of these areas. Our Custom BMS includes onboard logging, a custom web-app for debugging and parameter changes, and is designed to be compatible with many of our current and future battery applications. Battery team members will use CAD, manufacturing processes, analog and digital design, PCB design, and many forms of iterative testing.
Motor Controller Team
This year, EVC will design a new custom motor controller for our karts. Currently, the hardware and firmware will be based on the open source VESC project. The custom hardware and firmware will allow us to maximize the efficiency of our powertrain while allowing better integration with our other custom hardware onboard, like the BMS and distribution boards.
Hovercraft Team
This past year, hovercraft team began development of an electric, single person hovercraft, or ACV (Air Cushion Vehicle). This project began with very few design parameters, allowing the team to develop their own requirements, building the design to meet their own goals. By the end of the year, the hovercraft had completed its first test flights and performed above expectations, even lifting over 70Lbs in additional payload without complaint! This year, the hovercraft team will polish off existing designs, fully integrate permanent electronics, and perform manned tests. Hovercraft team members gain extensive experience in chassis design, closed system power distribution, controls, and various aspects of system integration.
Autonomous Kart Team
The autonomous kart team aims to create an autonomous kart based on a standard karting platform. It will use existing karting power electronics and mechanical hardware. The kart will be able to complete the grand-prix track autonomously using solely optical navigation.
Electric Motorcycle Team
The motorcycle team is in the process of completing a gas-to-electric motorcycle conversion. The team is designing a custom Lithium battery pack that will be easily removeable, both for safety and to allow better serviceability for the bike, and will be designed to work with our existing BMS architecture. The bike is currently driven by a single hub motor in the rear, saving precious space in the frame and simplifying it mechanically.
