Battery & Electrification Technology - May/June 2024 - 9

exchangers to potentially cool devices
better in smaller packages.
Since 2020, American Axle &
Manufacturing has been working with
the VTO to eliminate the need for heavy
rare earth materials in its motors. So far,
this project has designed a highly integrated
650-volt inverter to eliminate
phase leads and has developed a sintering
method to attach discrete SiC devices
to heat sinks for better thermal efficiency.
Another approach could come from
new ways to cool power electronics using
dielectric fluids. In 2018, the DOE started
a $1.6-million project to improve thermal
management in EV power electronics as
part of the DOE's Vehicle Technologies
Program. The project's objective is to develop
thermal-management techniques
to help reach that 100-kW/L power density
target.
In mid-2023, the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory said it had demonstrated
that a new two-phase dielectric
fluid concept, designed specifically for EV
cooling, could perform better than more
familiar water ethylene glycol (WEG) systems
when used with a custom SiC module.
Bosch's Medisetty added that development
of higher-voltage EV platforms may
help to literally take some heat off power-electronics
cooling concerns. " Heat is a
factor of the current that you're pushing.
At 800 volts, you actually have a lower
current; if all things being equal, the
power levels are the same, the current is
lower on the 800-volt side, " he said.
" Typically, you go to 800-volt because
you are already at the limit of the currents
that you can push through, so you
want to go to higher currents. What we
look at is to try to optimize the inverter
design such that you can shrink the size
of the inverter, the cooling circuit - and
take cost out. That's what we are focused
on, " added Medisetty.
To make a difference, research and
eventual production-vehicle components
have to find a home in vehicles people
want to drive and own. After decades of
watching power electronics improve, Oak
Ridge's Ozpineci said he knows who will
be pushing hardest for change.
" There are some smaller and newer
companies that are willing to adopt
these technologies faster than traditional
companies, " Ozpineci said. " New
Battery & Electrification Technology, May/June 2024
BET Aspen Aerogels Ad 0524.indd 1
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companies showing up in the EV space,
they don't have all these investments for
the old technologies, and they said,
'Okay, well, there's this new technology
that might be really beneficial. Why
don't we start from there?' "
This article was written by Sebastian
Blanco, Editor-in-Chief of Automo tive
Engineering magazine, SAE International.
For more information, visit
www.mobilityengineeringtech.com. 
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http://www.mobilityengineeringtech.com http://info.hotims.com/86255-707 http://info.hotims.com/86255-707

Battery & Electrification Technology - May/June 2024

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