Modular Power Electronics Approach for High-Power Dynamic Wireless Charging System

Dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) can provide energy to EVs in motion and extend the driving range. Upscaling the charging power to 200 kW (High Power DWPT) reduces the percentage of electrified roadway required, and the solution becomes cost-effective. To smooth the power at the battery and grid, a secondary regulation stage must be added. The DWPT system, therefore, relies on power electronics to interface with the coils and regulate the power flow. Designing this high-power system using wide-bandgap devices makes ensuring high efficiency, small size, and reliable operation very challenging, and significant engineering effort is required to build such complicated systems for large-scale installation and deployment. This article describes a modular design approach for power electronics to achieve the 200-kW wireless power transfer (WPT). As described, the silicon-carbide (SiC) power electronics building block is designed, simulated, and characterized. The approach is validated in the DWPT system to build the inverter, the rectifier, and the dc/dc converter, which demonstrated high performance and reliable operation with 188-kW power.