Power Electronics

The market for electric vehicles is set to exceed $1,000bn by 2030 but potential consumers are still concerned with range, cost and safety. Whilst this draws attention initially to the battery, an equally important factor and unifying component of electric vehicles is the electric motor and its effective thermal management.

The pandemic infection of COVID-19 has led to the lockdown of a considerable number of cities, leading to reduced pollution activity. With the large number of renewable energy sources employed in the last decades to decarbonise the energy sector, a growing number of energy storage devices have been coupled with renewable energy sources.

Electrics and robotics squares the circle of seeking a wider variety of depleting materials in nastier, more remote places from the seafloor to four kilometres underground, up remote mountains and later outer space. Zero-emission microgrids on-site, sensors everywhere and new information and communications technology lubricate the process.

The electric vehicle market is growing rapidly, and with it the demand for fast charging, increased energy density and improved safety. Something that all these areas have in common is heat. Charging a battery quickly generates a lot of heat, with the extra energy capacity of modern and upcoming electric vehicle batteries, extracting this heat becomes more challenging.

The EV market is booming. The battery is a key feature for both cost and performance, the chemistry and cell levels are extensively discussed. However, everything else that goes into a pack is often overlooked.

Masterclasses are the ideal way to train staff on emerging technologies. Bracketing the IDTechEx show in Berlin, the IDTechEx masterclasses on 12th and 15th May 2020 will contain the latest insights and analysis on their chosen topics.

Healthcare Sensor Innovations North America debut on Marc, 17-18, 2020 in San Jose, USA will focus on the latest developments in the use of wearables and sensors in point of care diagnostics and continuous monitoring.

Some of the biggest hurdles to widespread adoption of electric vehicles are range anxiety, battery longevity and safety. As the electric vehicle market grows and for it to reach its full potential, there is an increased need for effective thermal management of the vehicles.

Vehicles for construction, agriculture and mining CAM have become one industry served by giants such as Caterpillar, CNH Industrial, John Deere and Komatsu but also small businesses making the new requirements such as drone systems and weeding and mine survey robots.

The rise of electric vehicles is creating many new material opportunities. One such material class is the die attach material used in power electronics.