LCV 2018

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Out Technical Partner Dr. Charlie Elliott decided to get in the spirit of things and take his own 30kWh Nissan Leaf to LCV this year. It wasn’t just for the free parking (although he has been in Yorkshire for over 30 years so something must have rubbed off by now) but also as a bit of a show of solidarity. Two stops for 20 mins each on the way there and back to rapid charge was no issue at all with a coffee and a few e-mails written each time. Charging was free at the event and he even made use of the measured mile at Milbrook to see how the leaf did – a ton wasnt a problem! He reported that LCV has grown again and it was great to see so many UK based outfits working hard in the Low Carbon Vehicle sector. We may have to think about taking a stand next year.

3rd SiC MOSFET based project won!!

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We are delighted to report that we have just kicked off another significant project using SiC MOSFETs. In the past 18 months we have been working on two SiC based motor drive systems. One is for an EV project where the attraction of SiC is the power density and part load efficiency benefits. The latter in particular is essential as it offers potential for reduction in battery pack capacity/size/cost or alternatively additional range.  The other existing project is for an ultra high-efficiency motor drive where size is especially important and cost less so.

This new project is for higher power 500 kVA static-power conversion system where being able to switch at 20 kHz and above is essential to reduce the size of filtering components and eliminate switching frequency audible noise. Up at these kinds of power / current levels there is no choice but to parallel commercially available power modules. This brings it’s own challenges in terms of gate drive function and power circuit layout to ensure sharing of losses and to eliminate the potential for the modules to oscillate against each other. SPS will be using it’s wealth of experience in core power electronics technology and it’s extensive laboratory equipment to carry out this work for our client.