Highly Integrated Traction Inverter for a Modular Drive Concept

The growing demand of electrification in automotive powertrains requires an adapted, efficient, compact and cost-effective drive topology depending on the vehicle class. In order to meet these requirements, a basis for a scalable modular drive concept for electric vehicles could be of interest consisting of a small high speed electrical machine with integrated power electronics. In the context of a research project (InMOVE) a novel design for an integrated traction inverter is developed which provides the basis for a scalable modular drive concept. The core idea of this project is based on an integration of the power electronics on the end shield of a small high speed electric machine. The paper gives a closer look to the integration approach by describing the development of the components, aiming to reach a power density of 100kW/l for the inverter subunit. The design concept as well as first results of measurements on prototypes are given.