Range optimization of hybrid electric vehicles with power electronics and energy storage systems

Abstract

With the advent of technological ramifications for the transportation electrification sector, electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles are becoming more popular. The progress in the technological and research development over this upcoming technology is accelerating rapidly. However, one of the significant concerns about using them is range anxiety. This paper provides an understanding of the effects of deploying various popular battery chemistry on EV range. The influence of fast charging of batteries, along with the role of power electronics in increasing the range is elucidated. The efficiency improvements and increase in range by selecting wide-band gap devices over normal silicon-based devices are also elaborated. It was computed that an efficiency enhancement of 32% with an added range of 20.6 km can be achieved by using GaN devices over silicon based devices. An optimum frequency of operation should be selected considering the efficiency improvement in par with the associated switching losses. The work also elucidates the losses associated with using the devices at various switching frequencies. Furthermore, an optimized solution of battery chemistry and semiconductor devices for various applications is presented.