High-voltage chip-embedded switching-cells revealed unbeatable thermal performance The first batch of high-voltage switching cells implemented with SiC MOSFETs embedded into PCB boards from Schweizer was successfully characterized from both a functional and electrical perspective. These tests confirmed the correct operation of the switching cells, enabling the implementation of multilevel converters with improved efficiency, [...]

Digital Twins for Healthier Power Converters in Electric Vehicles One of the major challenges for electric mobility is ensuring that the electric-vehicle (EV) power electronic converter — the “brains” controlling energy flow between the battery, motor, and grid — remain reliable over years of operation. Their failure can lead to costly repairs, performance [...]

Powering Responsibly: The Environmental Assessment of SCAPE’s Inverter The LCA team is currently conducting an environmental assessment of the power inverter developed in SCAPE. This study evaluates not only greenhouse gas emissions but also considers water use, metal and mineral consumption, and 13 additional environmental categories—technically known as impact categories. Using a cradle-to-grave [...]

Testing SCAPE’s Multilevel Branch Mock-up As part of the ongoing validation of SCAPE’s modular converter architecture, IREC has successfully set up and initiated testing of a multilevel converter branch connected to a half-bridge leg using the opposition method. This approach, described in the literature as an efficient strategy for testing power converter legs [...]

New Compact Low-Voltage Switching Cell Prototype Successfully Designed, Implemented and Tested A new design of the low-voltage switching cell (LVSC) prototype, built around a 40 V GaN HEMT has been successfully designed, implemented, and tested. In this new version, all digital processing circuitry has been integrated into one single programmable chip, significantly reducing [...]

Connecting the Dots: WP2 Insights, Gaps & Change Readiness As the leader of Work Package 2 (WP2), devoted to Powertrain Requirements for Relevant Use Cases under a Wide Range of EVs, AVL-TR has successfully delivered the collaboration method, use cases, system requirements, test cases, and the first gap analysis report. Two additional gap [...]

Bulding SCAPE's Legacy: Collaborative Exploration of Exploitation Routes As part of SCAPE's committment to buliding a long-lasting impact route for the outcomes of project research in terms of commercial, environmental and social benefits, partners have touched base at the project's turning point to reconsider initial ideas for project exploitation routes and update strategies based [...]

Low-Voltage Switching Cell Prototype Successfully Designed, Implemented and Tested The first low-voltage switching cell prototype, built around a 40 V GaN HEMT, has been successfully designed, implemented and tested. The switching cell includes advanced functionalities such as embedded switching-cell voltage, current, and temperature measurements, and automatic fault-detection and isolation. All functionalities have been [...]

Refining Requirements: SCAPE's Dynamic Framework WP2, led by AVL-TR, plays a crucial role in the SCAPE project by spearheading the requirement engineering efforts. Over the first two years, WP2 has successfully developed a comprehensive collaboration method, defined use cases, system requirements, test cases, and conducted gap analyses. The collaboration method, meticulously crafted with [...]

Enhanced Implementation of Converter Building-Blocks: High-Voltage Switching Cell Prototypes with Chip-Embedding Technology After two years of intensive research and development, individual High-Voltage Switching Cells have been successfully manufactured and tested. This achievement follows significant efforts in several key areas: selecting and characterizing 750V SiC MOSFETs, developing advanced interconnection techniques for SiC bare-dies (including [...]