Electric and hybrid vehicles face three major challenges

Opportunities and Challenges:

• Electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles are becoming a clear trend

• Three major challenges: energy density of the battery system, volume and response speed of the motor system, and efficiency of the transmission system

• Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles have put forward new requirements on electronic system performance and power consumption

The dual demands of energy saving and environmental protection have made new energy vehicles increasingly attract the attention of the industry worldwide. However, people are also faced with multiple choices when switching from traditional fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles. In the future development direction of the automotive industry, electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles are becoming an obvious trend. At present, the more technically feasible solution is hybrid power, the next step is pure electric vehicles, and the next step may be fuel cell vehicles that are completely independent of electricity. Fuel cells may be the ultimate solution. However, it seems that the application of hydrogen fuel is still far away, so it is difficult to be widely promoted in the near future.

Hybrid electric vehicle voltage and current increase significantly

Technically, the technologies used by hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are very similar, and both vehicles face some technical obstacles. The energy density of the battery system, the volume and response speed of the motor system, and the efficiency of the transmission system are the three major difficulties currently faced by electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. In addition, another technical obstacle for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles is the high-voltage electrical system. Because traditional cars use a 12V power supply system, commercial buses and trucks use a 24V power supply system. Now all the components of the automotive electrical system are basically developed according to the two standards of 12V and 24V. However, the voltage level and current capacity required by hybrid electric vehicles have increased significantly. For example, when hybrid vehicles reach the mild hybrid level, the voltage requirements are generally between 120V and 140V, and some may even be as high as 280V, 288V or even 360V, and electric vehicles may be even higher. Toyota, a leading company in the industry, is currently researching the next generation of electric vehicle systems with an operating voltage of 600V. Such high voltage and high current applications are not available in traditional vehicles before, so hybrid and electric vehicles require electrical system suppliers to develop some new components, including high voltage and high current components, connectors , cables, wiring harnesses, power distribution systems, etc.

Hybrid vehicles must be powered by electricity

Generally speaking, automotive electronics also includes many application areas such as power system control, battery control, chassis control, etc. For electric and hybrid vehicles, the products and technologies required in these areas are also different from traditional automotive technologies. Because on traditional cars, the power of many auxiliary systems is provided by the power source of the engine, such as air conditioning, power steering, etc., whose power is provided by the engine. The problem that hybrid vehicles need to solve is that they must replace the traditional engine-driven solution with an electric drive solution. Delphi is also developing such products. For example, electric air conditioning is a product of our heat exchange system division. The prototype development of this product has been basically completed. If we cooperate with the OEM now, it can be put on the market in a relatively short time. Delphi will also continue to develop new products to meet the needs of the market. In terms of vehicle integration, hybrid vehicles have more functions. Since it has a second power source, this power source is completely controlled by electronics, so it has very high requirements for safety performance. In the field of traditional automobiles, Delphi Parker is committed to the integration of vehicle electronic and electrical systems. One thing we are doing now is to extend our knowledge and experience to the field of hybrid and electric vehicles to help OEMs plan and design the electronic and electrical systems of hybrid vehicles. We use our experience, expertise and our products to help OEMs develop products that are suitable for the market and put them into production as soon as possible.

New requirements for electronic performance and power consumption

Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles have put forward new requirements for the performance and power consumption of electronic systems. From the perspective of the system, there are two aspects: one is the electronic system, and the other is the electrical system. Among them, the challenges in the electronic system may be greater, and the most concentrated manifestation is in the motor control system. The motor control system requires a lot of electronic devices and components, such as high-power semiconductor devices. However, high-power semiconductor devices are not very suitable for the needs of the automotive industry in terms of cost, volume, and the energy density they can handle. Because in the traditional sense, such high-power electronic devices are mainly used in other industrial fields, and the requirements on performance and cost are not as stringent as those in the automotive industry. The problem we need to solve is how to design a system that can meet the stringent requirements of automotive applications at the lowest cost.