800V, 500k W High Power Density SiC Traction Inverter for Electric Vehicles

The target market drives the requirements of each electric vehicle (EV) platform. Development costs and development time constrain the optimal design technologies. The traction inverter is a critical component in the drive unit that directly impacts road performance, driving range, and vehicle reliability. This paper provides a design overview of a 500kW, 800V, high-power density three-phase traction inverter with a 98.5% peak efficiency. The inverter utilizes 1200V Silicon Carbide (SiC) switches to increase efficiency and power density. The paper focuses on hardware design implementation details at each stage of the inverter subassembly and performance characterization including power module losses, DC link commutation loop inductance and thermal design. Finally, the paper summarizes inverter testing under different speed and torque conditions.