EA Elektro-Automatik introduces bidirectional laboratory power supply for testing electric drive-trains, integrates CoolSiC™ MOSFETs

Viersen and Munich, Germany – 20 October 2020 – Hybrid and fully electric vehicle sales are picking up speed worldwide. While this is great news for the goal of reducing CO ₂ emissions, this is challenging for testing capacities of electronic components, namely motor, control, and battery. Testing, however, is a critical part of bringing any electric drivetrain into production. Traditional test setups require a dedicated DC source and electronic load in parallel to deal with bidirectional energy flow.

The power supply PSB 10000 of EA Elektro-Automatik offers a bidirectional solution for this application. It simplifies the test setup and reduces test time. Additionally, it offers great potential for savings in both acquisition and maintenance costs. Thanks to the discrete 1200 V CoolSiC™ MOSFETs from Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY), the system operates with efficiencies of over 96 percent. Used as an electronic load, the energy is fed back into the power grid, and only a small amount of energy is dissipated in the form of heat. The power density is industry-leading with 30 kW in a single 4U 19″ housing.

The device series PSB 10000 features an output stage with an extended scope of operation. Typical programmable DC sources offer full output power only at maximum voltage and current. The devices from EA Elektro-Automatik, on the other hand, offer full power from as little as one-third of the output voltage or output current. Charging or discharging a vehicle battery can serve as a good example. Even if the battery voltage rises or falls, the current automatically adjusts and thus provides full power. The flexibility of the devices can save a lot of equipment when testing different electronic components.

Availability

The bidirectional laboratory power supplies PSB 10000 4U can be configured from 30 kW to 1920 kW to form a complete system. Voltages from 60 V to 2000 V and currents up to several thousand amperes are available. To facilitate the integration into a test stand, the units are equipped with analog and digital interfaces. All power supplies are equipped with Ethernet and USB; CAN, CANopen, Profibus, ProfiNet, Ethercat, ModBus, and RS232 are optionally available. More information is available here.