News from Japan - Development of high-heat-resistant hybrid electric vehicle/electric vehicle cables

In recent years, from the view of environmental conservation awareness, conventional automobiles with internal combustion engines using gasoline as a fuel are losing public support. A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) with an electric motor and an internal combustion engine and an electric vehicle (EV) with an electric motor only are gaining in popularity. Nowadays, the voltage fed to an electric motor in an HEV or EV is typically 600 V, and therefore the cables used in these vehicles must have high dielectric breakdown voltages. The cable insulation must also have good thermal durability. This is especially the case for an HEV, in which the electric motor and the internal com combustion engine must fit into a very small and narrow space. This spatial limitation also requires the cable to be flexible.