Power electronics, the card to play for increasing electric means of transport

When electric motors come into the picture…

Today, electric transportation products require more and more range and power. As a result, the development of this type of transport leads to an increase in the number of electric motors and consequently in electronics.

There are more than a hundred electric motors in a car, ranging from a few watts of power for comfort features (e.g. seat adjustment, mirror adjustment, retractable door handles) and volume management to several hundred kilowatts for the propulsion of hybrid and electric vehicles.

Towards technologies of the future

By placing its expertise in the technologies of the future, the design center brings together all the essential elements for carrying out its customers’ electric transportation projects.

Power electronics, with transfer control and simulation support

The more powerful the motor, the more important it is to manage heat transfer. In a traction motor with several thousand watts (as is the case in an off-road vehicle and an automated robot, for example), the rotation causes energy losses and an increase in heat both in the motor and in the power electronics which control it. It is therefore vital for our engineers to carry out thermal simulations to ensure that the heat level is under control.

Motor control applications, with algorithmic programming

“Brushless” motors, which represent the latest technology, have several qualities: they are less energy-intensive, less noisy and more reliable. As they are more complex, these motors, to be controlled, call for development of algorithms based on matrix calculations (such as the Park transform) and integrated into microcontrollers. To do this, our design center has skills in modelling and calculation of control laws for complex motors.

Know-how in mechatronics, with hardware and software skills

Motor control functions require both an understanding of the components to be controlled (mechanical and dynamic). They implement PCBs (Hardware – Printed Circuit Boards) and complex algorithms (Software) executed  in dedicated high-end multi-core processors.. Mechatronics, the fusion of mechanical and electronic technologies, is therefore involved throughout projects related to electric motors.

A high-potential market for motors with embedded electronics

Between now and 2025, the power electronics market will experience strong growth, driven in particular by new uses of electric transportation, the deployment of recharging networks for electric vehicles and the growing use of renewable energies (solar, wind and hydraulic).

There is also a strong synergy between these sectors both in terms of the new, more eco-conscious behaviour of users and manufacturers, and in terms of control of electronic functions requiring increasingly high power management.

Power electronics reveals very attractive opportunities for the company. As a major player in the industry of the future, the Electronics activity of LACROIX is an ideal partner for electric transport projects, combining its design center’s expertise with that of its production plants.

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