BorgWarner, a global leader in delivering innovative and sustainable mobility solutions for the vehicle market, is partnering with two performance car brands, to provide them with a new 800-volt silicon carbide (SiC) inverter. As one of the key components in a new energy power system, inverters not only convert the DC power stored in the battery pack into AC power, but they also convert the AC power recovered during the braking process back to battery. Currently, most electric vehicles are equipped with a 400-volt system. As all-electric vehicles are expected to provide extended range and address higher requirements for charging performance, a more efficient semiconductor material is needed to increase the power density of inverters and electric drive assemblies. With this in mind, BorgWarner took the lead in building upon advanced technology to enable the application of silicon carbide in electric vehicles, ultimately developing a dual-sided cooling SiC inverter with high power that can be applied to 800-volt systems.
“We are honored to earn the trust of the two performance car brands as their core supplier of electronic propulsion systems,” said Dr. Stefan Demmerle, President and General Manager, BorgWarner PowerDrive Systems. “As a leader in this highly competitive market, BorgWarner continues to develop innovative game-changing technologies for electric vehicles; our 800V silicon carbide inverter solution is a great example.”
This new SiC inverter is designed using BorgWarner’s patented “Viper” SiC 800V power module, which resulted in the usage saving of Semi-Conductor and SiC Material. The dual-side cooling technology in the power module helped to reduce product weight by 40%, size by 30% and increase power density by 25% compare to the traditional Si based inverters. The SiC power switch application will improve the system efficiency with better performance at a lower cost for our customers.
Thanks to the unique Viper design, the solution is scalable to address changing demands, and adapts to both lower and higher voltage systems, making it easy to manage the multiple voltage ratings required by PHEVs and EVs.
The two electric SUVs equipped with BorgWarner’s latest 800-volt silicon carbide inverter are scheduled to start production in 2023 and 2024.
SOURCE: BorgWarner
