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Vehicle Electrification and its Impact on the Automotive Supply Chain

The automotive market share occupied by electric vehicles (EVs) has increased dramatically over the last three years, with xEVs accounting for almost 50% of newly registered vehicles in the EU in 2023. An increase fuelled, in part, by emission regulations, tax incentives, and increased social awareness. Additionally, variants, mild hybrid (MHEV) and plugin hybrid (PHEV), for instance, continue to use a small internal combustion engine (ICE) in their designs but also feature a battery. These options can ideally suit differing driving scenarios and return excellent economy without additional charging infrastructure or range anxiety. As the trend continues, the automotive supply chain faces numerous transitional challenges in meeting its increasing demands. EVs contain a greater number of electronic devices when compared to their ICE counterparts and will likely feature a more complex electronic architecture. Post pandemic supplies of signal chain components, sensors and high-power devices are still limited. In addition to the challenges the industry faces, the meteoric rise in popularity of the EV also creates opportunities for new partnerships and innovation.

Avnet Silica is ideally placed to facilitate designers in meeting these demands. This article will outline the principal technologies employed within EV designs and illustrate how our comprehensive portfolio can provide solutions that meet the highest automotive safety and performance standards.

Battery Management Systems (BMS)

The batteries used within an EV represent a significant part of its build cost. Consequently, management systems, that monitor and optimise their efficiency and longevity, are fundamental to the EV’s design. A well-designed battery management system analyses the state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) of the cells and can mitigate any performance differences within them. This monitoring and control ensures safe charging and optimises range efficiency for the entire lifespan of the batteries. Considering the vast amount of energy involved, safety within the battery ecosystem is critical. Avnet Silica can supply battery management systems for EVs (and other systems) from leading manufacturers, including NXP, STMicroelectronics and Renesas, which reach the highest automotive safety integrity levels (ASIL-D).

On-Board Chargers (OBCs)

There are several options for charging an EV that vary from overnight at-home trickle charging (usually via the household AC supply, or a dedicated wall charger), a car park setting during the working day (usually from a dedicated AC charging machine), or rapid “en route” DC charging. In the first two examples, the OBC processes the incoming supply (converting the incoming AC to DC) and optimises the method with which the batteries are charged and the point at which charging takes place. Constant current charging boasts efficiency and charging speeds but risks overcharging the cells at the end of the charging cycle, shortening their lifespan. Constant voltage charging, on the other hand, risks overcharging the batteries at the start of the charging cycle. A well-designed OBC can alter its charging method (regime) to optimise the charging speed and maximise battery lifespan. Avnet Silica can supply OBC components from leading manufacturers, including STMicroelectronics, Qorvo, Navitas, Rohm, Microchip and onsemi; these products feature AEC –Q101 qualified silicon carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) power devices and offer scalable, modular solutions with state-of-the-art efficiency. They can also provide reference designs for OBCs, from leading suppliers

DC-DC Converters

Electric vehicles’ electronic architecture features two DC power storage elements; a 12V low voltage (LV) rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) and a high voltage (HV) multi-functional energy storage system (MESS). For instance, the RESS provides radio, instrumentation, windows, and security voltage. The MESS delivers the power, through traction inverters, to move the vehicle.

The EV ancillary components - power steering pumps, heating systems, and air conditioning pumps are electronic devices. There’s no option in a battery-powered EV to drive them from the engine via belts. Similarly, in hybrid designs, where efficiency is paramount, electrical/electronic ancillaries offer greater efficiency in terms of weight and size. To run these ancillaries from a 12V supply would result in huge currents, as these elements can require multiple KW to operate. The solution is to create an additional 48V supply with a DC-DC converter. The 48V storage element can be a battery, supercapacitor, or sometimes both. The DC-DC converter here is bi-directional, recouping energy when braking occurs and returning it to the source. This 48V supply is also available to power new safety features, such as ADAS and active chassis control, and restart the ICE in some hybrid designs (xEVs). The harsh environment within which these circuits operate necessitates careful consideration of the mechanical attributes of all components and their electronic capabilities.

Avnet Silica’s portfolio includes NXP, STMicroelectronics, Qorvo, Navitas, Rohm, Microchip and onsemi. They are designed specifically for the harsh automotive operating environment.

Traction Inverter

The traction inverter converts the electrical energy stored in the vehicle’s high-voltage battery (MESS), into movement, via its electric motors. This element is the beating heart of the EV and determines its performance on the road, both in terms of range and efficiency and how it feels to drive. In addition to the harsh automotive environment in which the traction inverter operates, there are also electromagnetic properties to consider. Electric motors feature windings, which are essentially power inductors. Current surges, spikes and back EMFs are all associated phenomena and must be handled, with little interference, by the traction inverter. Additionally, the traction inverter’s physical weight and size are important considerations. The use of rugged Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) is commonplace, as are silicon carbide (SIC) MOSFETs and diodes.

These feature a minimal “On state” resistance, making them an ideal choice in high current small-size applications. Similarly, isolated gate drivers are employed for the IGBTs and MOSFETs.

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Avnet Silica’s portfolio includes STMicroelectronics, onsemi, Rohm & SiC Automotive grade (AG) MOSFETs that offer high-temperature handling, low switching losses, and low on-state resistances across the entire temperature range. The STPOWER SiC MOSFETs are available in state-of-the-art packages designed for automotive applications.

Future Trends in Vehicle Electrification

Several innovations will enhance the performance of EVs in the future. Battery design is one area in which considerable efforts are ongoing. Li-ion will likely maintain its position as the primary battery technology used, but enhancements to the cell design, anode construction, and energy density will feature in the future. Other battery technologies; including Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), Lithium Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) are in various stages of development. One of the principal areas of consumer inertia is range anxiety. Improvements in battery performance and increased availability of suitable charging infrastructure are two ways in which these fears can be allayed. Additionally, performance improvements are being made in power electronics to improve the powertrain’s efficiency. Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and high voltage (800V) vehicle platforms will likely increase as more manufacturers utilise this technology in their future designs.

Conclusions

The continued acceleration in popularity of the EV creates both challenges and opportunities for the automotive supply chain. Future designs will feature an increased proliferation of electronic devices, increasing the demand for high-quality, assured components. A market that, in turn, gives rise to new partnership opportunities between tier 1 semiconductor manufacturers and electronic component distributors. Avnet Silica is strategically placed to answer these ongoing trends with a comprehensive portfolio of components and sub-assemblies from leading manufacturers with extensive automotive experience to leverage into designs.

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STMicroelectronics

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Navitas

Navitas is the only pure-play, next-generation power-semiconductor company, founded in 2014. GaNFast™ power ICs integrate gallium nitride (GaN) power and drive, with control, sensing, and protection to enable faster charging, higher power density.

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ROHM

ROHM Semiconductor designs and manufactures integrated circuits, semiconductors and other electronic components for the consumer electronics, mobile phones and networks market, as well as for automotive electronics and other applications.

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Renesas

As innovators in embedded design, Renesas Electronics provides solutions to enable billions of connected and intelligent devices which enhance the way people work and live safely and securely.

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Microchip

Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. Its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs.

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Qorvo

Qorvo supplies innovative semiconductor solutions that make a better world possible. They combine product and technology leadership, systems-level expertise and global manufacturing scale to quickly solve our customers' most complex challenges.

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onsemi

onsemi is a preferred supplier of high performance silicon solutions to customers in the computing, communications, consumer, automotive, medical, industrial, and military/aerospace markets.

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