Electric Drivetrain Evolution - From Past To Future

By 2035 most industrial countries will ban the sales of new combustion engine vehicles, necessitating the development of electric vehicles from today’s status to become affordable for the mass market with equivalent or superior performance to conventional vehicles.

Developers must adopt new technologies such as fast-switching, wide-bandgap semiconductors, higher battery voltages and wireless connectivity to further improve the efficiency and range of electric vehicles but also overcome new design and test challenges such as increased electromagnetic emissions.

To ensure the correct performance and function of the electric drivetrain, it is essential to conduct functional and parametric tests not only on individual modules, but also at a system level. Here we can see a typical system with test points for elements such as the Battery Management System (BMS), on-board charger and traction inverter. Furthermore, it is necessary to perform EMC testing according to relevant standards during module development and on the full system as part of the homologation process.