Benchmarking EV and HEV power electronics and electric machines

This paper presents information from an ongoing benchmarking project being conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and funded by the Department of Energy (DOE). Beginning with the 2004 Toyota Prius, ORNL has benchmarked components from many on-the-road EVs, HEVs, and PHEVs. Detailed design, packaging, and operational assessments are presented on power electronic converters (such as inverters, buck converters, and bi-directional boost converters), electric motors (such as the primary drive motor and generator), and other associated components. Packaging assessments reveal mass, volume, and material compositions, and empirical evaluations provide efficiency, performance, and operational data throughout the entire operation range of each component.