High-power-density Inverter Technology for Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Applications

Takashi Kimura Ryuichi Saitou Kenji Kubo Kinya Nakatsu Hideaki Ishikawa Kaname Sasaki OVERVIEW: Green vehicles have become familiar sights on the road in recent years, with growing sales of HEVs and the arrival of the fi rst mass production BEVs. With environmental regulations on CO2 (fuel economy) and exhaust emissions also becoming increasingly stringent, sales of these green vehicles are set to increase further in the future. Consequently, because electric drive systems are made up primarily of electric motors, inverters, and batteries, inverters are being called on to fulfi ll increasingly diverse roles and there is a need to decrease their size and cost while increasing their output. Along with supplying inverters for HEVs and EVs that are an ideal match with customer requirements, Hitachi also intends to continue contributing to progress toward a low-carbon society by developing technologies that will help make inverters more widely used.