Automotive
Applications

Our solutions for automotive applications

Automotive Applications

Nowadays, we increasingly expect sustainable solutions in the area of personal mobility. In response to this, all the major automotive manufacturers are now adding battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles to their product portfolios in an attempt to reduce their overall fleet CO2 emissions. According to global market research and advisory company BIS Research, by 2029 the number of battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles worldwide will have increased by 23%. The European Union aims to put a minimum of 30 million zero-emissions vehicles on our roads by 2030. The amount of electronic components and systems in battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles is far greater than in vehicles with a conventional powertrain.

In fact, power electronics can be found at the heart of the electric powertrain in any battery electric and hybrid electric vehicle. They are needed to convert the direct current that comes from the car battery into the alternating current needed for the electric motor. 

These all-important systems are also used to control motor speed and torque. And the can also help reduce energy consumption in auxiliary equipment such as vehicle air conditioning systems or radiators, helping to reduce CO2 emissions. Electrified powertrains also include various new functions such as boost mode, where the electric motor support the combustion engine at peak loads. Or the radiator is cleaned by reversing the fan airflow.

SEMIKRON has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the area of electric vehicle powertrains, supplying this market with IGBT modules, IPMs and systems solutions for applications in the 20 kW to 250 kW power range. As early as the late 1990s, SEMIKRON was already producing inverter drives for the first ever hybrid electric vehicles. And for over two decades SEMIKRON has been a key supplier for forklift truck manufacturers.

Automotive Applications

Electric and Hybrid Passenger Cars

  • Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle
  • Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
  • Battery Electric Vehicle
  • Hybrid Electric Vehicle

In passenger car applications, power electronics have to rise to considerable challenges: they have to be compact and efficient, while remaining robust and reliable under the ever changing conditions that occur during cold start and repeated acceleration and deceleration. SEMIKRON offers a wide...

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Industrial and Light Electric Vehicles

  • Forklifts
  • Material Handling
  • Motorcycles and Quads
  • Light Electric Vehicles
  • Agricultural Vehicles
  • Construction Vehicles

More and more industrial vehicles such as forklift trucks now run on electric power. In fact, what was once state of the art for indoor vehicles, is now increasingly finding its way into outdoor vehicles, as powertrain electrification continues to advance and enter new vehicular applications. Today...

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Trucks, Buses and Heavy Duty Utility Vehicles

  • Buses
  • Trucks
  • Heavy Off-Road Duty Vehicles

Hybrid electric or all-electric buses are already in widespread use in our cities today and are an effective way of reducing pollutant emissions or avoiding them altogether. This move towards cleaner mobility is also being seen in trucks...

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