Sponsored by Silicon Labs Designing high-voltage power conversion systems today is both more challenging and more convenient than it has been in the past. More challenging because the demands of efficiency and power density require the use of the most bleeding-edge technologies available. More convenient because those advanced technologies, necessary to put into service, often… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "conversion"
Nexperia extends MOSFET line-up with AEC-Q101-qualified half-bridge package
Nexperia has announced a series of half-bridge (high-side and low-side) automotive MOSFETs constructed in the space-saving LFPAK56D package format. The half-bridge configuration of two MOSFETS is a standard building block for many automotive applications, including motor drives and DC/DC converters. The new package provides a half-bridge solution in one device, and occupies a 30% smaller… Read more »
Kia unveils a roadmap for a shift to electrified vehicles, including 11 new EVs by 2026
Kia announced an update to its Plan S mid- to long-term roadmap at the company’s 2021 CEO Investor Day event. The new strategy features a renewed emphasis on the transition from ICE vehicles to electrified models. “Kia is being reborn in 2021 with a new logo, new design, and new corporate name,” said CEO Ho… Read more »
VW describes the “intelligent regenerative braking” on the ID.4
Some EVs employ regenerative braking to recover energy whenever the accelerator pedal is released, while others simply allow the vehicle to coast. For the new ID.4 electric compact SUV, Volkswagen decided that coasting will take priority because energy conversion inevitably leads to losses. This applies to the Drive position, which is activated by default upon… Read more »
Truck-maker Scania favors battery-electric over hydrogen vehicles
Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, says it will “gradually” electrify its heavy-duty vehicles, and that “battery-electric vehicles will be the main tool to drive this shift.” “By 2025, Scania expects that electrified vehicles will account for around 10 percent or our total vehicle sales volumes in Europe and by… Read more »
Tesla’s Advanced Battery Research group gets new leadership, Jeff Dahn to become advisor for Novonix
Professor Jeff Dahn is a star researcher in the battery field—he has co-authored 730 papers and holds some 73 patents. Professor Dahn and his research group at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia have had an exclusive research partnership with Tesla since 2016. Now Professor Dahn is stepping down from his leadership role at Tesla’s… Read more »
New magnetic material could improve EV motor efficiency
Toshiba has developed a new magnetic material with characteristics that could improve motor efficiency at low cost. Motors account for approximately half of the world’s electric power consumption. Toshiba says its new material boosts energy conversion efficiency when used as the wedges in motors, particularly in medium-to-large induction motors. The material can be installed at… Read more »
Harvey Gulf orders Wärtsilä energy storage for four LNG-powered supply vessels
Wärtsilä, a provider of marine industry LNG solutions and services, will supply its Energy Storage System (ESS) to Louisiana-based Harvey Gulf, which will retrofit the system to four Harvey Energy-class LNG-fueled Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). A fifth vessel in this class was previously fitted with a Wärtsilä ESS. When the upgrade project is completed, all… Read more »
A closer look at the DC Link
The term DC link has traditionally referred to the junction between two power conversion stages where an energy storage element (almost always a capacitor) acts as a buffer for each. A classic example is the capacitor placed between the rectifier and the voltage source inverter in a mains-supplied variable frequency drive (see Fig. 1). This… Read more »
The technical challenges of bidirectional chargers
For years, we’ve been hearing about an EV technology that promises to be a game-changer: Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) bidirectional charging. My recent work with one V2G charger developer, Fermata Energy, has convinced me that V2G has found its proverbial killer app: load peak shaving for commercial/industrial energy customers. This article is going to concentrate on the… Read more »