ELECTRIC VEHICLES

How do they work?

Battery
Did You Know?
EV batteries consist of hundreds of
discrete Lithium-ion cells connected With a Tesla battery holding approximately
in series and parallel. 100kWh of energy.

Charging an EV battery safely requires You could boil water for 5K cups of tea.
Direct Current (DC) at the correct Leave an LED light bulb on for 2 years
voltage and amperage to be supplied. Or charge your mobile 10K times.

Charging
The fastest way to charge an EV is
using an off-board charger or
supercharger, which directly
connects to the battery at the
optimal voltage and current.

Every EV has a slower on-board

charger that converts the output from
a simpler charging station, such as a
residential charger, and modifies the
power levels for the specific battery

Cables in the car.

The car is connected using a

charging cable assembly, much more
sophisticated and robust than a
typical power cable.
'
It must be rugged enough to survive
thousands of mating cycles in all
weather conditions and still safely
transfer up to 800A.

Did You Know?

MCU
The on-board charger solution
Used in Formula E and the latest EVs, SiC power uses a combination of digital
modules withstand higher temperatures than power techniques. A high voltage
traditional silicon components meaning they can commercial charger providing a 3
be charged faster and require smaller passive phase supply uses a three-phase
components resulting in smaller, lighter designs.
active bridge, or Vienna rectifier
and a powerful MCU to efficiently
manage the charging of the battery
using power factor correction
(PFC).

Traction
Inverter

Using a system called a traction

inverter, DC power from the battery
pack is converted into an AC
sinusoidal wave which drives the
electric motors and propels the
vehicle.

Split in two, the low-voltage section Regenerative

Braking
or cold-side is managed by a MCU
with communication interfaces and
power management and controls the
unit’s function.
During braking the traction inverter
The high-voltage, or hot side allows for regenerative breaking
contains the high voltage circuitry which transfers kinetic energy of the
in the power stage using an IGBT vehicle back to the battery pack.
or Silicon Carbide (SiC) power
modules, gate drivers, and voltage This saves energy that would
and current measurement circuits to normally dissipate in the form of heat
drive the motors. which charges the battery and
extends the range of the vehicle.

Motors
Brushless DC motors are common in
EVs, as they are fast to respond and
allow for quick acceleration. These
motors are efficient and require little
maintenance.

Due to their compact size, some

vehicles have one separate motor
per wheel for improved performance.

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