ReXo retrofit control unit for edrives

EPTechnologies has been one of the early pioneers of electric drive systems, with a particular focus on the needs of the boat builder. One of the latest products has been ReXo, which the company describes as ‘a smart electronic control unit for sailing vessels. ReXo has been built to manage fixed electric saildrive and shaftdrive systems up to 18kW, with a safe 48VDC supply.’

Wiring and connecting drive systems can be a complex business, so ReXo has been designed to make the process as straightforward as possible. Essentially, its plug and play, and because the system is relatively low output (23.4hp), it is aimed at yards or DIY owners who don’t want to have to qualify to handle high-voltage systems.

“The ReXo system is currently available for marine businesses,” development engineer Manu Shine told us at Metstrade. “However, we want to make it available for all our customers, including amateur installers. The main idea is that they can put in an entire electric drive system without needing our guidance. The owner who wants to remove a diesel and drop in one of our sub-18kW saildrives or fixed shaft drives, for example, will find this system very intuitive.”

The exhibit at Metstrade showed all the components wired together, with the system able to handle up to 14 batteries totalling up to 200kWh. There are connections for a 12VDC output, plus a throttle, key switch and emergency stop. The system can also link to a standard MFD display, although the communication is one way. The MFD is simply a monitor, rather than a control system. The actual system management is done via a special control box that contains a small computer, which EPTechnologies can programme and update accordingly.

https://eptechnologies.dk