The changing face of CAV – how electrification

is changing the commercial vehicles business

White Paper
07-2019

www.infineon.com
The changing face of CAV

Abstract
Just as private vehicle users are being asked to address their CO2 footprints, so too are Commercial,
Construction and Agricultural Vehicle (CAV) operators. This is driving a move toward electrification.
There have already been several successes in this space, such as low-emission dump trucks being used
in mining enterprises. China has also made significant progress, introducing electric busses to many of
its cities. Regardless of the degree of electrification, electronic control systems are also of increasing
importance in this revolution. These range from battery switches and power management, to
technologies that enable energy-efficient platooning of trucks on highways and reduce blind spots when
turning. Many of these capabilities are simply steps to the ultimate goal of fully autonomous operation.

The challenges for vehicle designers are the extreme demands placed on the electronic systems, since
CAVs operate for many more hours daily than private vehicles, covering larger distances over their
lifetime. Additionally, they operate in some of the harshest environments regarding temperature
extremes and shock/vibration while having to maintain the highest safety levels. This white paper
reviews the e-CAV market’s applications and takes a look at some of the solutions that Infineon has on
offer.

Introduction
Commercial, Construction and Agricultural Vehicles (CAV) have been the focus for new technologies
that improve safety, reduce carbon- and particulate matter emissions, as well as improving operating and
fuel efficiency. Drivers of this change are a combination of legislation and increasing pressure to axe
costs. Zero-emission initiatives are being introduced in the cities of Athens, Madrid and Paris, as well as
by the government of Norway, that will see diesel vehicles banned by 2025. Other cities too have
announced plans to stop purchasing conventionally fueled busses, pushing electrically powered vehicles
into focus. The industry is also reviewing how to automate the driving function to reduce accident rates
and minimize human intervention. Electrification is the obvious way forward and the technologies
required span all electrical and electronic disciplines, from motors and their drives, through power to
computing, to sensing and communications. Compared to private passenger vehicles CAV complexity
can be much higher due to the number of sensors and actuators, as well as features such as blind-spot
monitoring and platooning – the aggregation of groups of trucks into close proximity convoys.

www.infineon.com 2
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

The CAV market

Although there are many more private vehicles on the roads than trucks, CAVs alone account for 25% of
EU’s CO2 emissions and 5% of the total greenhouse gas output as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1 EU figure stating that 25% of CO2 emissions are from heavy commercial vehicles

They also consume far more diesel than a car per kilometer and are typically operational for longer each
day. Daily use for a CAV exceeding ten hours is not unusual, compared to the average daily car journey
of around just one hour. Their stop-and-go nature, especially for busses and construction vehicles,
makes them particularly fuel-inefficient. Service lifetime is also much longer, with busses typically in
service for one million kilometers compared to just a 200,000 km lifetime for cars. With ever-increasing
demand for goods- and mass-transit of people, the CAV market is set to increase over the coming years
and the proportion that will be fully- or semi-electric will be much higher. A study by McKinsey shows e-
trucks at around 15% of the total market by 2030 and the share for smaller commercial e-vehicles in
cities reaching 35%. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) forecasts that, worldwide, 80% of city
busses will be electric while McKinsey forecasts 75%, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Percentage sales of e-busses in Europe – adapted from McKinsey and Company
presentation at conference “Trends in der Nutzfahrzeugindustrie” Munich, May 2019

www.infineon.com 3
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

Energy saving is only part of the equation with e-CAV; McKinsey also claims that the ultimate goal, CAV
level 5 autonomous driving, will yield a total cost of ownership (TCO) saving of 45% for a typical vehicle.

Regulatory pressure is also present around the world. A recent EU ruling states that emissions from new
trucks must be, compared to 2019, 15% lower by 2025 and 30% lower by 2030 [1]. China already
operates 99% of the world’s 386,000 e-busses according to Bloomberg. In Europe, the need for small
street delivery vehicles has been addressed by the German-made ‘StreetScooter’, an all-electric, light
utility vehicle with 12,000 units on the road [2] and 500 more ordered for Japan [3].

Electric drives in the CAV market

The efficiency and endurance of the electric drivetrain for e-CAVs is key if zero-emission vehicles are to
establish themselves as reliable alternatives to today’s fossil-fuel transport. As an example, city e-busses
in Korea achieve a range of 290 km and can reach a top speed of 93 km/h using 256 kWh Li-ion
batteries. Their powertrain utilizes two 120 kW electric motors driven by a pair of inverters using IGBT
technology for the lowest cost. In the application the IGBT switching devices are subject to extreme
thermal cycling, transient voltage spikes from load-dumps and mechanical stress due to vibration. To
withstand these stress levels, three Infineon FF1000R17IE4P PrimePACK™ 3 devices [4] were used for
each inverter, rated at 1700 V and 1000 A featuring TRENCHSTOP™ IGBT4.

The StreetScooter application also makes use of TRENCHSTOP™ IGBTs for the traction inverters
together with AURIX™ automotive-grade microcontrollers and gate drivers from the EiceDRIVER™
family. The Infineon EasyPACK™ IGBT module rated at 650 V/100 A, [5] is also featured in the vehicle’s
DC-DC converter.

Electric busses as schematically sketched in Figure 3, are designed for heavy use of up to 16
hours/day, 300 days/year with more than 60 start/stop cycles per hour anticipated. Here, the Infineon
PrimePACK™ with IGBT5/.XT interconnection technology [6] can demonstrate all its advantages.
Employing copper rather than aluminum bond wires, sintering for the die attach and a high-reliability
solder system for the substrate to baseplate connection, reliability is increased. The higher power cycling
performance of the .XT compared to standard technology increases the number of cycles-to-failure by a
factor of ten, avoiding over-dimensioning and delivering an improved TCO. Compared to IGBT4
technology, the IGBT5 devices demonstrate a 25% improvement in power density along with reduced
losses.

www.infineon.com 4
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

Figure 3 Electric busses benefit from the most robust IGBT5.XT technology

The most prominent Infineon IGBTs that have found a home in these applications are the cost-efficient
EconoDUAL™ 3 [7] half-bridges rated at up to 900 A and 1700 V. The majority of electric buses is
equipped with this module family. The HybridPACK™ drive module [8] can also be used in EV
applications. For example, the 820 A/720 V device FS820R08A6P2B is specifically targeted to achieve
low partial-load losses for extended driving range in typical conditions. It is a six-pack module, optimized
for 150 kW inverters operated at up to 10 kHz. Further devices to extend the portfolio are currently in
development.

Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices are an up-coming technology for power switches that can also be
considered for e-CAV applications. Providing similar headline specifications to IGBTs, the devices can
switch at much higher frequencies. Exceeding a switching frequency of 50 kHz enables the use of
smaller passive components and filters. Even when switched at lower frequencies, SiC devices can
reduce the sum of losses by up to 80% compared to IGBTs. The Infineon 1200 V CoolSiC™ range [9] is
such an example with both, modules and leaded parts available.

Auxiliary power conversion functions

Auxiliary power converters are necessary for a range of applications such as water or hydraulic pumps
or HVAC compressors. Drives might also feature in steering control for semi- or fully autonomous
driving. In these applications, the space, weight and efficiency gains through using SiC can be very
attractive. Cabin heating and cooling are good examples of functions that run continuously where high-
power conversion efficiency translates directly to lower battery drain and longer driving range. High-
efficiency IGBTs can be used such as the Infineon IKP, IKW and IKB ranges in leaded TO-247
www.infineon.com 5
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

packages. Use of a CoolSiC™ device in a lower loss D2PACK package enables surface-mounting and
assembly cost savings. In motor drives, the higher efficiency of CoolSiC™ – based devices results in
smaller heatsinks, if any are required at all, while the higher switching frequency means, that smaller
EMI filters and decoupling capacitors can be used.

Electrified CAVs also feature on-board AC-DC battery chargers and DC-DC converters for auxiliary
power rails for lighting, infotainment, and other legacy functions. For chargers and converters, the gains
from using CoolSiC™ for power switches and diodes are even greater than in motor drives. This is
thanks to the dramatically smaller isolation transformers and inductive storage elements required at high
switching frequencies. This contributes to an overall decrease in system cost compared to IGBT-based
solutions.

IGBTs and CoolSiC™ devices need supporting drivers and potentially feedback or sensing circuitry to
operate. The Infineon EiceDRIVER™ [10] family includes a range of automotive-grade IGBT gate drivers
available as single- and dual-channel types with galvanic isolation and bi-directional signal transmission.

Sensing of currents, rotor angular position and rotational speed is necessary in speed- or torque-
controlled motor drives. Hall-effect sensors for current sensing are a cost-efficient solution for
implementing Electro-Hydraulic Power Steering (EHPS), as depicted in Figure 4. The automotive-grade
XENSIV™ TLE4999 [11] Hall sensors can support ISO 26262 compliant, ASIL-D applications. The
devices feature two Hall measurement channels for comparison of main and sub signals on the ECU,
comprehensive self-diagnostics, data security with cyclic redundancy and rolling counter checks on the
digital outputs.

Figure 4 Electro-hydraulic power steering

www.infineon.com 6
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

Sensors using the ‘Giant Magneto Resistance’ (GMR) or ‘Anisotropic Magneto Resistance (AMR)’ effect
can be used to measure rotor angles with high precision. The XENSIV™ family TLE5309D includes one
of each type for a redundant design. The sensors are physically separated within a single package and
have separated power supplies for increased operational security. A further device using the GMR effect
is the fully redundant TLE5012BD. It provides a maximum error over lifetime and temperature of just
1.0°. It includes an SPI-compliant digital interface to set parameters, retrieve diagnostics and collect
status information.

Battery and power management

With the long service life expected of e-CAV applications, maintaining the health of the battery is critical
to TCO. Battery management systems monitor temperature and discharge over time to provide the
e-CAV an accurate prediction of remaining charge and indirectly range. As batteries are charged
cyclically, the individual cells of the battery pack age differently to one another and must be periodically
balanced back to a common state of charge. Battery management systems cover all these functions with
dedicated battery monitoring ICs such as the Infineon TLE9012/9015. This device can monitor up to
12 series-connected cells, measuring the cell’s voltage with 12-bit ADC resolution. It can also handle a
balancing current of up to 1.5 A. Cell temperature is monitored and security is assured by two
independent internal voltage references, end-to-end CRC-secured communication at 2 Mbps, internal
diagnostics and an emergency communication mode.

A particular difference in e-CAV requirements compared to private electric vehicles is the need for a
battery disconnect function, used in cases of emergency or when loading or unloading hazardous goods.
This takes the form of an emergency stop switch which can be operated from the cab or from outside the
vehicle. Semi- or fully-autonomous vehicles will have a redundant, typically 24 V, battery supply that can
be switched in or out at currents which might peak at over a thousand amps. The traditional solution has
been a mechanical relay but this can be replaced by a bi-stable smart circuit breaker using MOSFETs as
the switching element. A circuit breaker demonstrator developed by Infineon and Schweizer Electronic
AG using eight IPLU300N04S4-R8 OptiMOS™ devices in parallel has shown an end-to-end resistance
of just 110 µΩ at 25°C and 160 µΩ at 120°C. The continuous current rating is 300 A, and overcurrent
can reach 500 A for ten minutes with 50 cm3/min airflow; the demonstrator is pictured in Figure 5.

www.infineon.com 7
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

Figure 5 Battery circuit breaker demo-board 24 V, 300 A continuous

The Infineon AUIR3242S [12] MOSFET gate driver is used in the demonstrator to drive the 8 MOSFETs
in parallel. The driver operates down to voltages as low as 3 V, has an idle current of only 50 µA, and
includes diagnostic and protection features like gate current monitoring.

The MOSFETs use the Infineon leadless TOLL package, which, compared to D2PACK types, occupies
30% less board space, is half as high and provides a 50% larger soldering area for lower thermal
resistance, leading to higher reliability. The packages are AEC-Q101 qualified, lead-free and suitable for
40 V and 80 V MOSFETs.

Battery charging
e-CAVs will make use of differing charging solutions. Busses, construction, agricultural and service
vehicles are likely to utilize larger batteries, returning daily to a main harbor where AC-, wireless or fast
DC-charging is available. Trucks may charge prior to and at the end of each journey. Time may be
limited, so fast DC-charging would be preferred. Smaller commercial vehicles for local deliveries will
have multiple opportunities to fast-charge throughout the day and therefore could have smaller, lighter
batteries.

For AC-DC on-board chargers, designers can consider utilizing CoolMOS™, IGBTs, or CoolSiC™ with
EiceDRIVER™ devices for the power stages. Automotive-grade AURIX™ microcontrollers and
OPTIGA™ security chips provide functional control, meeting the safety integrity levels needed, along
with secure authentication and billing. Infineon OPTIREG™ [13] parts will also find applications in
chargers with the range including power management ICs (PMIC), switching and linear regulators, all of
which are automotive-grade and ISO 26262 compliant.

www.infineon.com 8
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

System control for fail-safe operation

The Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) AEC-Q standards relate to stress test qualification of
components and are a pre-requisite for supply into the automotive market along with a quality system
complying with IATF 16949:2016. AEC-Q101: ‘Failure Mechanism Based Stress Test Qualification For
Discrete Semiconductors’ and AEC-Q104: ‘Failure Mechanism Based Stress Test Qualification For
Multichip Modules (MCM)’ are applicable to most of the Infineon products mentioned.

The classification of hazards caused by failure of elements of an automotive control system are defined
in ISO 26262 [14] which is an adaptation of IEC 61508 [15] that defines Safety Integrity Levels (SIL).
Since the end of 2018 this also covers trucks, busses and even electric motorcycles. For the automotive
industry, Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASIL) apply, ranging from ASIL-A to ASIL-D. With respect
to autonomous driving functionality, the hazard level allocated depends on the automation level involved,
which is defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers from level 0 to level 5, an overview is given in
Figure 6.

Figure 6 Levels of driving automation – source SAE document J3016

www.infineon.com 9
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

To meet the required safety integrity levels in e-CAVs, all electronic control modules must either be fail-
safe or fail-operational, with warnings and full or degraded functionality. The power distribution must also
be redundant for safety critical applications. The Infineon AURIX™ [16] range of microcontrollers is
designed to meet ASIL-D level thanks to its unique features:
 Secured boot
 Secured on-board communication
 Software Over the Air (SOTA) update support
 IP and tuning protection
 Diagnostics via OBD/protected FAR flow/debug protection
 Immobilizer
 Full eVita compliance for tamper proofing

These devices are 32-bit processors featuring up to 6 CPUs and clock speeds of up to 300 MHz, as well
as an embedded Hardware Security Module (HSM). All devices are CAN-FD enabled and the latest
generation AURIX™ TC3xx family also includes 1 Gbit/s Ethernet connectivity. Security of supply is also
ensured by a commitment to long term availability from the manufacturer with full design support
provided by Infineon with tools, reference designs and technical experts on hand.

Sensors feeding into automotive controllers must also be suitably qualified for the safety integrity levels
needed. Mechanical and electrical sensors have already been mentioned for on-board monitoring but
external sensors play a role as well. For example, RADAR systems for blind spot monitoring using
chipsets such as the Infineon automotive-grade BGTATR12 operating at 24 GHz.

Safe power for safe systems

Electronics such as controllers are only as safe as their power supply, so Infineon offers the TLF35584
multiple output system power supply chip, part of the PRO-SIL™ range [17]. This ISO 26262 compliant
device enables system design up to ASIL-D with multiple user-protected safety features such as rail
monitoring, failure detection with a flexible watchdog concept, as well as a safe state controller that
provides secondary safety paths. Built-in test is included to ensure that all features are operating
correctly. The device has a maximum input of 40 V so a pre-regulator is needed when powered from a
24 V truck supply which, according to standard LV124, can peak at 60 V. This can be a simple linear
active regulator but then efficiency suffers. A better solution is the low-cost, automotive-qualified
TLE6389xx active DC-DC pre-regulator which allows flexibility and efficiency with a fixed or adjustable
output [18]. The device has under-voltage monitoring on input and output and very low quiescent and
shutdown current. Figure 7 shows how the TLF35584 and TLE6389xx interface to an AURIX™
microcontroller.

www.infineon.com 10
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

Figure 7 TLF35584 and TLE6389 powering an AURIX™ microcontroller

OPTIREG™ linear/switching regulators and PMICs are ideal for general use with automotive
qualification and ISO 26262 product options available.

Summary
Moving commercial heavy-duty vehicles to the electric domain provides the opportunity to increase fuel-
and operating efficiency while improving safety and reducing the operator errors that lead to accidents.
However, this cannot be implemented at the expense of endurance, operational lifetime or reliability.
This means that there are high expectations for electronic components and systems used, especially
with the advent of autonomous vehicles. With Infineon’s focus on the CAV market, the company is well-
placed to serve this demanding application segment, supporting the low-voltage domain with
components well proven in the automotive market up to the high voltage domain. With power, sensing,
communications and a range of controller products, Infineon serves as a single point for sourcing
solutions for this most challenging but exciting world of e-CAV.

www.infineon.com 11
07-2019
The changing face of CAV

Notes and references

[1] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/de/press/press-releases/2019/06/13/cutting-emissions-council-
adopts-co2-standards-for-trucks/
[2] https://www.streetscooter.eu/de/mission/
[3] https://www.streetscooter.eu/de/stories/streetscooter-goes-japan/
[4] https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/igbt/igbt-modules/igbt-modules-up-to-1600v-
1700v/ff1000r17ie4p/
[5] https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/igbt/igbt-modules/igbt-modules-up-to-600v-
650v/df80r07w1h5fp_b11/
[6] Lifetime Analysis of PrimePACK™ Modules with IGBT5 and .XT
https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/igbt/igbt-modules/econo/econodual-3/
https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/igbt/automotive-qualified-igbts/automotive-igbt-
modules/
https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/wide-band-gap-semiconductors-sic-gan/silicon-
carbide-sic/
https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/gate-driver-ics/automotive-eicedriver/
https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infineon-Sensor_Solutions_BR-2019_13062019-
ProductSelectionGuide-v01_00-EN.pdf?fileId=5546d462636cc8fb0164229c09f51bbe
https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/gate-driver-ics/auir3242str/
https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/promopages/OPTIREG/
[14] ISO 26262 'Road vehicles – Functional safety'
[15] IEC 61508 'Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related
systems'
[16] https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infineon-TriCore_Family_BR-BC-v01_00-
EN.pdf?fileId=5546d4625d5945ed015dc81f47b436c7
[17] https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/microcontroller/safety-products-pro-sil/
[18] https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infineon-TLE6389-DS-v02_20-
EN.pdf?fileId=5546d46258fc0bc1015969d25b5241c7

Published by Please note! Additional information

Infineon Technologies AG
85579 Neubiberg, Germany
© 2019 Infineon Technologies AG.
All Rights Reserved.
Order Number: B169-I0881-V1-7600-EU-EC-P
Date: 08 / 2019
THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES
ONLY AND ANY INFORMATION GIVEN HEREIN SHALL IN
NO EVENT BE REGARDED AS A WARRANTY,
GUARANTEE OR DESCRIPTION OF ANY
FUNCTIONALITY, CONDITIONS AND/OR QUALITY OF
OUR PRODUCTS OR ANY SUITABILITY FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WITH REGARD TO THE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF OUR PRODUCTS, WE
KINDLY ASK YOU TO REFER TO THE RELEVANT
PRODUCT DATA SHEETS PROVIDED BY US. OUR
CUSTOMERS AND THEIR TECHNICAL DEPARTMENTS
ARE REQUIRED TO EVALUATE THE SUITABILITY OF
OUR PRODUCTS FOR THE INTENDED APPLICATION.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THIS DOCUMENT
AND/OR THE INFORMATION GIVEN HEREIN AT ANY
TIME.
For further information on technologies, our products, the
application of our products, delivery terms and conditions
and/or prices please contact your nearest Infineon
Technologies office (www.infineon.com).
Warnings
Due to technical requirements, our products may contain
dangerous substances. For information on the types in
question please contact your nearest Infineon Technologies
office.
Except as otherwise explicitly approved by us in a written
document signed by authorized representatives of Infineon
Technologies, our products may not be used in any life
endangering applications, including but not limited to medical,
nuclear, military, life critical or any other applications where a
failure of the product or any consequences of the use thereof
can result in personal injury.