Research and Development in EV

Electric Vehicles(EV) are increasingly becoming a part of modern life; its tremendous fuel economy, eco-friendliness, and smooth driving feel have appealed to many conscious modern consumers. EVs are quite different from traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines.

Electric Power Control Unit(EPCU)

The Electric Power Control Unit(EPCU) is an efficient integration of nearly all devices that control the flow of the electric power in the vehicle. It consists of the inverter, the Low voltage DC-DC Converter(LDC), and the Vehicle Control Unit(VCU).

Inverter

Power inverters and converters are used to invert HV battery pack direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) for motors that propel the vehicle down the road; they also convert AC to DC to charge the HV battery pack. With an electric drivetrain, the inverter controls the electric motor in a manner somewhat equivalent to how the Engine Control Unit (ECU) of a gas or diesel internal combustion engine vehicle determines the vehicle’s driving behavior; it also captures kinetic energy released through regenerative braking and feeds this back to the battery. As a result, the range of the vehicle is directly related to the efficiency of the main inverter.

DC/DC converters

Different voltage levels are required by the various electronic components in a car or truck. The most basic requirement for DC/DC conversion is to power the traditional 12 V loads. When a standard combustion engine vehicle is operating, an alternator connected to the engine provides the power for all electrical loads and also recharges the battery. The internal combustion engine in HEVs can be off for extended periods of time, so an alternator cannot be relied upon to provide power to auxiliary loads. A DC/DC converter charges the 12 V battery from the HV bus, thus eliminating the 14 V alternator.

On-board Charger(OBC)

The On-board Charger(OBC) is used to convert Alternating Current(AC) from slow chargers or portable chargers used on home outlets into Direct Current(DC). This may make the OBC look similar to the traditional inverter, but they differ crucially in function; the OBC is for charging, and the inverter is for acceleration/deceleration. Incidentally, the OBC is not needed in fast-charging, since fast chargers already supply the electricity in direct current.

Battery Management System(BMS)

The Battery Management System(BMS) manages the battery’s many cells so that they can operate as if they are a single entity. The EV’s battery consists of as little as tens to as many as thousands of mini-cells, and each cell needs to be in a similar condition to the others in order to optimize the battery’s durability and performance.

Next-generation Lithium-ion Battery Pack

Mild hybrid systems have recently been attracting interest as a technology for improving fuel consumption. These systems use a gasoline engine for travel assistance, along with battery and motor power. Global production of mild hybrid vehicles is forecast(7) to grow from about 450,000 units in 2016 to over 12.8 million units in 2023. Particularly rapid growth of mild hybrid systems is expected in Europe and China, driven by 48 V lithium-ion batteries that can improve fuel consumption relatively inexpensively. Hitachi Automotive Systems has responded to these trends by announcing the development of a 48 V lithium-ion battery pack for mild hybrid vehicles in March 2016. The development work will bring together lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing technology for hybrid vehicles and battery management system (BMS) technology.

Battery Pack Materials

Pack materials forecasted include aluminium, copper, thermal management materials, thermal interface materials, steel, glass fibre reinforced polymers, carbon fibre reinforced polymers, inter-cell insulation and compression foams and pack fire-retardant materials.

Electric Powertrain

Vehicles are collections of many different products, and high performance is unlikely to be achieved from just partial optimization. Hitachi Automotive Systems is using simulation-driven analysis to study product specifications and control technologies suited to particular combinations of these electric powertrain components.

Electric Motor

Motor materials forecasted include aluminium, boron, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, iron, neodymium, niobium, silicon-steel, terbium and praseodymium.

Conclusions

This article has discussed the inverters, motors, and batteries used as electric powertrain components in electric vehicles, as well as simulation technology for analyzing combinations of these components.

Electric powertrain components have advanced through refinements in power electronics and microprocessors, and will continue to evolve as automotive power units. Hitachi is working to help protect the environment by developing products that meet the needs of the expanding market for vehicles that are compatible with the environment.

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