Free online courseElectric Vehicles Fundamentals: EV Technology, Batteries, Motors, Charging and Economics

Course Description

Electric mobility is reshaping transportation, but many newcomers struggle to connect the big picture with the engineering details that determine range, performance, safety, and cost. This free online course helps you build a clear, practical foundation in electric vehicle technology by linking the core subsystems—battery, power electronics, motor and controller, drivetrain sizing, charging, and infrastructure—into one coherent understanding you can apply in real projects and informed decisions.

You will move beyond surface-level explanations and learn how engineers reason about energy use per kilometer, resistive forces that shape real-world efficiency, and the way drive cycles translate into design targets. The course builds intuition for power and torque requirements, why voltage levels matter for losses, and how nominal versus peak ratings affect the behavior and reliability of components in everyday operation. This makes it especially useful if you want to evaluate specifications, compare architectures, or communicate confidently across mechanical, electrical, and product teams.

Battery topics focus on what drives performance and economics: key parameters, cycle life influences, chemistry choices, cell formats, SoC/SoH estimation, pack configurations, and the design tradeoffs behind mechanical integrity, thermal control, and electrical layout. You will also gain a grounded perspective on battery cost, effective usage cost, financing impacts, and how those factors change the business case for different vehicle segments.

On the propulsion side, the course develops a working understanding of motors and controllers, magnetic circuit concepts, torque production, back EMF, d–q modeling, and the principles behind field-oriented control. You will see why thermal design decisions—from housings and fins to cooling approaches—matter for efficiency, durability, and sustained performance. Finally, the charging portion connects on-board versus off-board charging, fast-charging constraints, swapping models, public-charger interoperability, and standardization needs to the realities of deployment at scale.

Designed for learners in professional skills and mechanical and industrial basics, this course fits engineering students, early-career professionals, and anyone transitioning into EV roles. By the end, you will be able to interpret EV technology choices with stronger technical judgment, ask better questions in reviews, and evaluate design and infrastructure options through both an engineering and an economic lens.