August 14, 2022
The system converts energy coming from the battery into alternating current with a power of 100A which is used to drive the electric motor in the vehicle. The initial tests were successful. Both companies are moving to the field trials phase
company hofer powertrain The German announced the success of the development of high voltage converters for electric vehicles based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) switches of the company VisIC Menas Ziona. The system receives direct voltage from powerful car batteries (800V) and produces alternating current to drive the car’s engine. This is a stage that has a high impact on the efficiency of the electric vehicle, because the conversion process involves many energy losses, and receiving high-quality alternating current improves the engine’s performance. The development was carried out in cooperation with VisIC, which develops and manufactures GaN switches for high-power applications.
The two companies developed a converter which supplies the electric motor with an alternating current (sinusoidal current) with a power of 100 amperes. The project’s chief engineer at Hopper, Lukas Ruslaniak, said that the first tests of the system showed better performance than inverters in the competing switching technology, which is based on silicon carbide. “We are now entering the phase of field tests to test the technology in field conditions.” Most hybrid and electric vehicles are equipped with 400V batteries. However, recently many manufacturers have started to switch to using 800V batteries which provide several important advantages.
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The more powerful batteries are able to provide the engine with the necessary power through a low current, therefore reducing energy losses and thereby increasing the driving range, shortening charging times and even using thinner copper cables. The collaboration between the two companies began at the end of 2021, during which Hofer adopted the D technology3GaN of the Israeli company, based on the D-Mode configuration which includes an array of two complementary switches and another control switch, in a single component. This configuration ensures fast switching while reducing losses, and the continued functioning of the entire switch, even when there is a fault in one of the internal switches.
According to the company, the technology is suitable for other electric vehicle applications, besides converters, such as high voltage conversion (DC/DC) and charging the batteries in the vehicle. The VisIC company, which was established in 2010, develops and manufactures power converters based on Gallium Nitride (Gan). It is a semiconductor composed of gallium and nitrogen and is characterized by a very high energy band. Therefore it is usually intended for special applications electro-optical components, high frequency components and high power components. The components of VisIC are manufactured in the Taiwanese company TSMC. One of the strategic investors in the company is the Taiwanese chip manufacturer Media-Tech.
Posted in the categories: Automotive, News, Semiconductors, Israeli Industry
Posted in tags: VisIC, gallium nitride, electric vehicle
