Five Electric-Vehicle Design Challenges to Overcome

Charging Infrastructure: While there has been an increase in charging infrastructure such as the daily charging stations in commercial parking areas, outside company buildings, and garages, the biggest issue for consumers is the availability of charging stations for long-distance travel. There are simply not enough charging stations for those traveling to destinations much farther from home than the local grocery store and work. To keep up with the fast-paced growth of hybrid and electric vehicles, large investments will be needed to expand charging infrastructure. Fortunately, the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was recently signed into law, providing billions to accelerate the production of EVs and charging infrastructure. Additionally, many U.S. consumers will be able to use the light-duty EV tax credit of up to $7,500 per vehicle through 2032.

Less Efficient Batteries and Restricted Driving Range: The lithium-ion batteries for vehicle electrification currently provide drivers a range of 249 to 311 miles (400 to 500 km); this is considered a limited driving range because drivers expect a range of more than 400 miles (644 km). Battery design is limited by the power density related to the mass and size of the pack. Increasing the mass negatively affects the vehicle’s braking, handling and acceleration, and requires more energy. In addition, designers must make certain the batteries do not degrade too much over time so drivers won’t need to replace their vehicle battery multiple times over the lifespan of the car.

EV Reliability: Power components such as motor, battery and power electronics are vulnerable to environmental stress including mechanical shocks and temperature variation, making powertrain reliability a key challenge for designers. How the performance of one component might impact another needs to be considered by multiple parties.

Power Semiconductors: EVs are reliant on power conversion systems. Power conversion systems that use silicon-based power semiconductor switches increase efficiency and minimize energy loss . However, silicon power semiconductors like MOSFETs have limited voltage. Insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) are power semiconductors that can operate between 400V to 1600V but cannot be used in high-frequency operations. To overcome these barriers, wide-bandgap devices such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) can be employed because they are small, can function in high-voltage and high-frequency modes, and are able to operate with high thermal conductivity and less on-state resistance. However, they are expensive and few manufacturers produce them.

Fluctuating Automotive Supply Chain: Compared to a gasoline-powered vehicle, an electric drivetrain has about 3,800 fewer parts. Benefits of this include lower cost, less maintenance and overall reduced cost of ownership. However, because suppliers are very reliant on OEMs and the simulation tools they use, integration is more vital than ever. OEMs and suppliers must proactively update their supply chains if they are to keep up with future mass EV adoption based on global incentives and future restrictions. For example, China began requiring 10% of new-car sales to be fully electric or hybrid in 2019 and Europe has a goal to ban fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2040.