Power – Drive Systems in a Phase of Transition

Breakthroughs in vehicles and batteries, the expansion of charging infrastructure, and the integration of renewable energies will all contribute to the rapid evolution of the electric vehicle industry.

The Three Key Elements to an EV’s Powertrain:

• The on-board charger (OBC) – This takes the current from the AC mains (coming from a residential block, office or street-based charging point) and converts it into DC. This DC current is then used to charge the battery. When fast charging (from a charging roadside station) is being carried out, the OBC does not need to be involved. Here the current can be supplied straight to the battery.
• The battery management system (BMS) – This is responsible for looking after the Li-ion battery. It must ensure that the battery operates in a way that ensures the longest possible working lifespan and the conditions that it is running at are maintained within optimal margins, the cell loads being balanced accordingly. Via sensors situated on individual battery cells, it can monitor the temperature levels and other parameters. This will safeguard against the prospect of thermal runaway or other problems occurring.
• The inverter – This has the job of using the charged energy in the battery to propel the EV’s traction motor, as well as controlling its rotational speed. Though the energy stored in the battery is in a DC form, it needs to be converted back into AC before it reaches the motor.

This will also mean that there is less wasted energy turned into heat, so the cost involved and space taken up by thermal management will both be lowered. At the same time, there is increasing pressure to increase the power densities of OBCs. That will allow their contribution to the overall weight of the vehicle to be reduced, enabling greater distances to be travelled on the stored charge. The higher temperature-withstand levels, elevated voltage capabilities, and faster switching speeds that WBG technology is able to support are going to be pivotal in future OBC designs – enabling more efficient, robust and compact solutions. The need to downsize EVs’ inverters and boost their operational efficiency (through mitigating switching losses) are very similarly apparent. Once again, it will be the use of WBG that will be the foundation for this.

These will have higher resolutions, so that temperature and current fluctuations can be more accurately determined, as well as increased responsiveness, in order that arising situations can be addressed at the earliest stage, before damage is done to the vehicle or the occupants put in any danger. The speed of the supporting communication infrastructure will need to be increased too.

In 2025, according to the Eurostat study "Digitalisation in Europe", more than a third of people in the EU (35%) used generative AI tools.

For example, advances in battery chemistry and charging infrastructure have significantly reduced charging times. Many of today's electric vehicles can be charged to 80% of their capacity within half an hour and even faster with a solid state battery using a direct current fast charger. However, the charging infrastructure still needs to be expanded further – and as quickly as possible. This is a huge market that offers equally huge opportunities for companies that manufacture and distribute charging solutions.