The Need

As the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) becomes more widespread, there is an increasing emphasis on improving charging technologies. There is substantial commercial need for technologies that sit on-board EVs, enhancing charging efficiency and reducing mechanical complexity.

The Technology

The Ohio State University Researcher Dr. Jin Wang has developed a novel high-power charging technology that includes a multi-phase open-winding electric machine, a multi-phase traction inverter, and a multi-phase compensation inverter. The winding machine connects to the EV’s charging port, while the traction inverter connects to the battery and the compensation inverter to a capacitor bank. Interaction between the two inverters during typical driving operations leads to improved performance in the winding machine (i.e., the operating efficiency of the electric motors). Similarly, the compensation inverter enhances the charging performance of the traction inverter during typical charging operations.

Commercial Applications

• Electric Vehicle Charging: The technology significantly improves the efficiency of EV charging by being directly integrated into on-board charging systems of EVs to enhance their performance.
• Battery Management Systems: The technology can be used in battery management systems to optimize charging and discharging processes.

Benefits/Advantages

• Efficiency: The technology improves the efficiency of both driving and charging operations.
• Simplicity: It uses the motor and the traction inverter for charging without needing additional components, simplifying typical EV systems.
• Quality: The power quality is very high for both driving and charging.
• Versatility: A silicon-based traction inverter is usable, which can also benefit from further improvements using either SiC or GaN.