Bringing Efficiency and Power Density to Electric Vehicle Onboard Chargers through Silicon Carbide

Early electric vehicles (EVs) had limited driving range due to the challenges of storing sufficient energy to drive their powerful traction motors.

To extend driving range, EV manufacturers have increased the energy capacity of a vehicle’s batteries. Larger batteries, however, mean longer charging time.

EVs need to be able to charge their larger batteries quickly and efficiently to be viable. Consider that in 2021, the average of the top 12 EVs available on the market had a battery capacity of 80 kW−hr. Consumers primarily use a vehicle’s OBC in their homes. To ensure reasonable vehicle charging times, OEMs have also increased the power capabilities of OBCs from 6.6 kW to 11 kW and even up to 22 kW. With a 6.6 kW onboard charger (OBC), these EVs required 12.1 hours to recharge fully. Increasing OBC power to 11 kW shortens the charge time for these larger batteries to 7.3 hours, and with a 22 kW OBC, an EV would take only 3.6 hours to charge.