Vicor Corporation has released three automotive-grade power modules for 48V EV systems that deliver industry-leading power density and will support automotive OEM and tier one production in 2025. The BCM6135, DCM3735 and PRM3735 use AEC-Q100 certified Vicor-designed ICs and have completed the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) with automotive customers.

“Vicor has set a new standard for power density in the automotive industry with these scalable and flexible miniature power modules,” said Patrick Wadden, VP of the Vicor Automotive business unit. “Our high-performance converters enable new possibilities for automotive manufacturers to reduce the size and weight of power systems throughout the vehicle.”

The newly released Vicor modules can be arranged in over 300 configurations, offering extreme flexibility and scalability to support innovation for a variety of vehicle subsystems. Further, as the market shifts from 12 V to a 48 V Zonal Architecture, these devices are highly efficient in converting to and from 48 V. All three modules can be arrayed easily to increase power supply levels and have automatic power sharing for optimum performance. The modules solve complex challenges with 800 V, 400 V, 48 V, and 12 V systems.

Product Details and EV Applications

The BCM6135 is a 98% efficient 2.5 kW BCM® bus converter and converts 800 V from the traction battery to 48 V to provide a safety extra-low voltage power supply for the vehicle. The BCM6135 provides isolation between high voltage and low voltage which creates a large reduction in the space required for DC-DC conversion. The BCM6135’s power density of 158 kW/L allows EV system designers to shrink the primary DC-DC converter to reduce vehicle weight. The bi-directional rapid current transient response rate of 8 mega amps per second allows the BCM6135 to replace a 25 lb 48 V battery by serving as a virtual 48 V battery in xEV vehicles to deliver additional cost and weight savings.

The DCM3735 2.0kW DCM™ DC-DC converter transforms an unregulated 48 V input into a regulated 12 V output. The DCM3735 has a wide input range that is compatible with a variety of automotive applications because the output can be trimmed within a range of 8 V to 16 V. The DCM3735 has a power density of 300 kW/L making it an attractive choice for architectures bridging 48 V distribution to 12 V subsystems in zonal ECU applications.

The PRM3735 is a 2.5kW PRM™ regulator for 48 V power that is 99.2% efficient. Its small footprint and 260 kW/L power density frees up packaging space and reduces the volume and weight of the DC-DC power supply. It is best suited for regulated 48 V loads implemented in new vehicle architectures.

“Our power modules make it easy to convert from the primary battery (800 V or 400 V) to 48 V and down to load,” said Wadden. “They are very versatile, and our customers are using the modules to improve efficiency while also removing size and weight from their power systems.”

Vicor power modules are improving power delivery networks throughout the vehicle in innovative ways:

• Active suspension comes of age in EVs
  • Power needs of active suspension system are too high to be met with 12 V power. Switching to a 48 V bus and converting down with the bidirectional BCM6135 is an efficient way to deliver high performance. This application also capitalizes on the BCM6135’s high slew rate as the active suspension is a regenerative power load, which requires immediate current flow reversal to pass regenerated power back to the battery.
• Deleting or reducing the low-voltage battery
  • The industry-leading slew rate of the BCM6135 presents an opportunity to replace a 48 V battery — with the BCM serving as a virtual 48V battery in the xEV vehicle, delivering cost and weight savings. Since the BCM6135 can switch from zero current to full current at 8.0MA/s, it can step down the traction battery’s 800 V to 48 V and power a load as fast as drawing the power from an auxiliary 48 V battery. The new DC-DC converter enables customers to reduce vehicle weight by up to 25kg while reducing vehicle costs by up to $100.
• 48 V zonal architecture adoption is on every roadmap
  • The new power modules can be easily configured to make this transition easier. The DCM3735 is used in conjunction with BCM3735 to create a regulated 12 V power supply off the BCM6135 48 V output. When used as a part of the 48 V zonal architecture, the DCM3735 can be mounted remotely to create a local 12 V supply in a vehicle zone, for example on the righthand side. This application method allows the PDN designer to effectively support 12 V loads while achieving up to 90% of the cost and weight savings that come from transitioning to a 48 V bus.
• Pre-charging prevents current surges and saves weight
  • Pre-charging is a necessary step in the start-up process. It prevents current surges at battery engagement that will damage the loads (such as pumps and compressors). Currently this is done using high-voltage contactors and resistors, which add 1 kg and over $50 in cost. The alternative is to use the BCM6135 and a PRM3735 as the main DC-DC converters and one of the low-voltage batteries installed in the vehicle. The BCM6135 can boost the low-voltage battery power up to high voltage and achieve the needed pre-charge, eliminating the legacy pre-charge contactor and power resistor.

The flexibility of the power modules enable a host of automotive applications to be powered. More importantly, they deliver on the promise of 48 V adoption. Whether converting the high-voltage traction battery to 48 V, delivering point-of-load power from a 48 V bus, or enabling legacy 12 V sub-systems to live in new 48 V zonal architectures, Vicor’s high-performance, automotive-grade power modules deliver the highest power density while reducing power loss and simplifying designs.