Hyperdrive, a UK company that specializes in developing electric vehicle tech, has created a small, modular petrol engine that could be added to EVs to increase range and mitigate range anxiety. It calls the range extending engine the Range Extender

“Compared with existing technologies, our Range Extender is a low cost, compact and high power-density unit. We believe this product is the perfect way to overcome the hurdle of range anxiety and it is further evidence that the North East is producing innovative solutions to achieve a low carbon future," said Hyperdrive managing director, Stephen Irish.

The Range Extender is a single-cylinder 15kW (20hp) petrol engine that is designed to act as a generator for an EV's battery pack to increase range. Hyperdrive is specifically aiming it at small, lightweight vehicles and for niche applications like marine engines and mobile generators. It claims that adding the range extender means that manufacturers can use a smaller battery pack, which saves weight and cost. 

The other key to the technology is the software that starts and stops the engine as needed so that it only tops up the battery when necessary

It is also working on a 15kW, single-cylinder diesel version that will be ready soon and should be even more efficient. 

The project was funded by the Collaborative Projects Fund in the UK that gave the company £278,331 to create the engine.