Press launch of Vicor in regards to the highest-density automotive-grade energy modules

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Vicor releases highest density automotive-grade energy modules, enabling 48V energy methods for electrical automobiles

Andover, Mass., October 16, 2024 – Vicor has launched three automotive-grade energy modules for 48V EV methods which ship industry-leading energy density and help automotive OEM and tier one manufacturing in 2025. The BCM6135, DCM3735 and PRM3735 use AEC-Q100 licensed Vicor-designed ICs and have accomplished the PPAP course of with automotive prospects.

“Vicor has set a brand new customary for energy density within the automotive {industry} with these scalable and versatile miniature energy modules,” stated Patrick Wadden, VP of the Vicor Automotive enterprise unit. “Our high-performance converters allow new potentialities for automotive producers to cut back the scale and weight of energy methods all through the car.”

The BCM6135 is a 98% environment friendly 2.5kW BCM® bus converter which converts 800V from the traction battery to 48V to supply a security extra-low voltage (SELV) energy provide for the car. The BCM6135 internally supplies the isolation between excessive voltage and low voltage which creates a big discount the area required for the DC-DC conversion. The BCM6135’s energy density of 158kW/L permits EV system designers to cut back dimension of the first DC-DC converter and cut back car weight. The bidirectional fast present transient response price of 8 mega amps per second permits the BCM6135 to interchange a 25lb 48V battery — by serving as a digital 48V battery within the xEV car and delivering further value and weight financial savings.

The DCM3735 2.0kW DCM™ DC-DC converter transforms an unregulated 48V enter right into a regulated 12V output. The DCM3735 has a large enter vary that’s appropriate with quite a lot of automotive purposes as a result of the output may be trimmed inside a variety of 8 – 16V. The DCM3735 has an influence density of 300kW/L making it a lovely selection for architectures bridging a 48V distribution to 12V subsystems in zonal ECU purposes.

The PRM3735 is a 2.5kW PRM™ regulator for 48V energy that’s 99.2% environment friendly. Its small footprint and 260kW/L energy density frees up packaging area and reduces the general quantity and weight of the DC-DC energy provide. It’s best suited to help regulated 48V masses which might be carried out in new car architectures.

The newly launched Vicor modules may be organized in over 300 configurations, providing excessive flexibility and scalability to help innovation for quite a lot of car subsystems. Additional, because the market shifts from 12V to 48V Zonal Structure, these merchandise are extremely environment friendly in changing to and from 48V. All three modules may be arrayed simply to extend energy provide ranges, and so they have automated energy sharing for optimum efficiency in an array.  These modules remedy advanced challenges with 800V, 400V, 48V and 12V methods.

“Our energy modules make it straightforward to transform from the first battery (800V or 400V) to 48V and right down to load,” stated Wadden. “They’re very versatile, and our prospects are utilizing the modules to enhance effectivity whereas additionally eradicating dimension and weight from their energy methods.”

Vicor energy modules are enhancing energy supply networks all through the car in modern methods:

• Energetic suspension comes of age in EVs
  Energy wants of energetic suspension system are too excessive to be met with 12V energy. Switching to a 48V bus and changing down with the bidirectional BCM6135 is an environment friendly option to ship excessive efficiency. This utility additionally capitalizes on the BCM6135’s excessive slew price because the energetic suspension is a regenerative energy load, which requires fast present movement reversal to cross regenerated energy again to the battery.
• Deleting or lowering the low-voltage battery

The industry-leading slew price of the BCM6135 presents a chance to interchange a 48V battery — with the BCM serving as a digital 48V battery within the xEV car, delivering value and weight financial savings. Because the BCM6135 can swap from zero present to full present at 8.0MA/s, it may well step down the traction battery’s 800 to 48V and energy a load as quick as drawing the ability from an auxiliary 48V battery. No different DC-DC converter can match this velocity and allows prospects to cut back car weight by as much as 25kg whereas lowering car prices by as much as $100.

• 48V zonal structure adoption is on each roadmap
  The brand new energy modules may be simply configured to make this transition simpler. The DCM3735 is used along with BCM3735 to create a regulated 12V energy provide off the BCM6135 48V output. When used as part of the 48V zonal structure, the DCM3735 may be mounted remotely to create a neighborhood 12V provide in a car zone, for instance on the fitting hand aspect. This utility technique permits the PDN designer to successfully help 12V masses whereas reaching as much as 90% of the price and weight financial savings that come from transitioning to a 48V bus.
• Precharging prevents present surges and saves weight

Precharging is a mandatory step of the start-up course of. It prevents present surges at battery engagement that can harm the masses (resembling pumps and compressors). Presently that is achieved utilizing excessive voltage contactors and resistors, which add 1kg and over $50 in value. The choice is to make use of BCM6135 and a PRM3735 as the principle DC-DC converters and one of many low-voltage batteries put in within the car. The BCM6135 can increase the low-voltage battery energy as much as excessive voltage and obtain the wanted precharge, eliminating the legacy precharge contactor and energy resistor.

The flexibleness of the ability modules allow a bunch of automotive purposes to be powered.  Extra importantly, they ship on the promise of 48V adoption. Whether or not changing the excessive voltage traction battery to 48V, delivering point-of-load energy from a 48V bus, or enabling legacy 12V sub-systems to reside in new 48V zonal architectures, Vicor’s excessive efficiency, automotive grade energy modules ship the very best energy density whereas lowering energy loss and simplifying designs.

Learn extra in regards to the three new automotive-grade Vicor energy modules

About Vicor

Vicor is the chief in high-performance energy modules, enabling buyer innovation with easy-to-deploy modular energy system options for energy supply networks that present the very best density and effectivity from supply to point-of-load. We repeatedly advance the density, effectivity and energy supply capabilities of our energy modules by staying on the forefront of distribution architectures, conversion topologies and packaging know-how. Vicor serves prospects in high-performance computing, industrial tools, automotive and aerospace and protection markets. With over 40 years of expertise in designing, creating and manufacturing energy modules for demanding markets, the Vicor patented, high-frequency DC-DC energy conversion know-how is ideally fitted to the automotive market.

www.vicorpower.com

Vicor is a registered trademark of Vicor Company.

For extra data contact:

Stephen Germino,

sgermino@vicr.com

978 749-8243