As the mobility industry continues to work toward more affordability and widespread EV (electric vehicle) adoption, automotive suppliers are continuously introducing new technologies to help bring down costs for OEMs. A recent example is German powertrain technology company Vitesco Technologies GmbH, which announced the development of a new power module for electric vehicles at a media event during this week’s Detroit Auto Show.

According to Vitesco Technologies, its new power modules combine state-of-the-art silicon carbide (SiC) chip technology with overmolding, which results in a robust product with increased power density, lower cost, and reduced weight. The new product consists of three overmolded half-bridges and forms the core of an EV’s inverter system, which controls an EV’s drive energy and energy recovery.

The transfer molding manufacturing process involves a dielectric material to protect electronic components, resulting in a more robust, cost-effective, and reliable power module. Vitesco Technologies has been using its transfer molding process since 2020, first applying it to compact transmission control units. The new power module will be manufactured at the company’s plant in Nuremberg and is slated to be delivered to a large global automotive OEM starting in 2025.

“These power modules are a good example of our strategic approach of using the scalability and modularity of our power electronics to develop and manufacture submodules in addition to the complete electronics,” said Thomas Stierle, Board Member and Head of Vitesco Technologies’ Electrification Solutions division. “Combined with our extensive overmolding expertise, we can deliver an extremely robust product to our customers. This is yet another example of how we successfully transfer proven technology to an electrification product.”

“A very deep system competence is necessary to ensure that a sub-module of this kind, which forms the core of the inverter, can be successfully integrated into the full system,” said Michael Horbel, Head of Product and Platform Management for high voltage inverters at Vitesco Technologies. “Our degree of electronics modularity and scalability enables us to offer more flexibility in terms of customer-specific interfaces.”

In a separate announcement earlier this year, Vitesco Technologies announced the delivery of its EMR3 integrated axle drive product to Honda UK for its new European B-segment electric SUV, the e:Ny1, which will be available starting in October 2023.