Driving Toward Accessibility

image licensed by ingram publishing`

A REVIEW OF By Bulent Sarlioglu, Casey T. Morris, Di Han, and Silong Li

TECHNOLOGICAL
IMPROVEMENTS FOR
Electric and hybrid vehicles continue to demand a considerable
ELECTRIC MACHINES,
share of the automotive market. This movement has been enabled by the recent
POWER ELECTRONICS, technological improvements in the areas of electric motors, power electronics, and
AND BATTERIES FOR energy storage. While many electric vehicles (EVs) are on the market, they are not
ELECTRIC AND HYBRID as cost competitive as conventional vehicles, and affordable cost is necessary for
VEHICLES large-scale market penetration. For this to become a reality, continued research is
needed to develop new cost-efficient technologies. This article presents the met-
rics and benchmarks used to gauge the performance of various electric drive-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MIAS.2016.2600739
trains. In addition, current state-of-the-art technologies are presented in terms of
Date of publication: 3 November 2016 these metrics as well as the future goals and trends in the industry. With ongoing

14 IEEE Industry Applications Magazine œ j anuary/f ebruary 2017 1077-2618/17©2017IEEE

development, the market for electric and hybrid vehicles
will continue to increase. 350
300
Automotive Industry Advancements
250
The EV and hybrid-electric-vehicle (HEV) market has been

Torque (lb-ft)
growing over the years and continues to grow today. 200
Influenced by both government regulations and consumer 150
demand, auto manufacturers have continued to pursue
100
technologies to improve efficiency and fuel economy. As
the market progresses, continued research and develop- 50
ment are required to enable the large-scale market pene- 0
0 1.5 3 4.5 6 7.5 9 10.5 12 13.5
tration of EVs and HEVs in the future. In particular, there
Speed (kPRM)
are three main areas in which current research aims to
improve the vehicle: electric motors, power electronics, Roadster Sport Electric Motor
High-Performance ICE
and energy storage. This article describes the evolution of Compact Car
these technologies and lays out the road map for future
technological development and implementation in EVs
FIGURE 1. The torque/speed curve of the induction motor used in a Tesla
and HEVs [1], [2]. Roadster Sport electric motor [7]. lb-ft: pound-foot.
EVs can trace their inception as far back as the early
20th century; however, they were quickly overmatched by technologies will be described, as updated from those dis-
the influx of the internal-combustion engine (ICE). The cussed in [25].
advantage that the ICE had was its energy-storage capaci-
ty; as it was capable of providing longer ranges of travel at Motor Technology
a lower fuel cost. However, by the end of the 20th century, Electric motors and generators are widely used in vehicles
technological improvements in electric machines, power and were initially implemented long before the swift
electronics, and energy storage sparked increased efforts development of EVs and HEVs. In vehicles, electric
in EV development. Today, EVs and HEVs have a consider- motors/generators are commonly used for many automo-
able share of the automotive marketplace, which is led by tive parts with functions that range from minor to highly
major car companies around the world. New technologies significant, such as traction motors, hybrid-coolant water
will continue to revolutionize the industry and lead to pumps, alternators, starters, engine-cooling fans, electric
large-scale adaptations of these cars [3], [4]. Apart from power steering, sun roofs, power windows, parking-brake
technology trends, this article will also present perfor- engagement, power seats, air-conditioning (A/C) compres-
mance requirements that have been set for the future. Cur- sors, the blower for cabin conditioning, windshield wipers,
rent and potential future states of the state-of-the-art and many linear actuators. Typically, more than ten electric

2003 Prius 2004 Prius 2010 Prius Ford

Chevy Volt Honda Accord 2007 Camry 2008 Lexus Leaf

FIGURE 2. Rotor laminations of different types of PM machines in EVs/HEVs [9]–[12]. (Used with permission.)

j anuary /f e bruary 2017 œ IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 15

 Table 1. Electric motor ratings and performances [13]
2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 Chevy
Parameter Prius Accord Camry LS 600h Prius Sonata Leaf Accord Volt
Peak power (kW) 50 12.4 70 110 60 30 80 124 111
Peak torque (Nm) 400 136 270 300 207 205 280 N/A 368
Rotational speed 6,000 6,000 14,000 10,230 13,500 6,000 10,400 N/A N/A
(r/min)
Cooling Heat Air- Heat Double- Direct Heat Heat N/A N/A
sink with cooled sink with sided, cooled, sink with sink with
water/ heat water/ water/ single side water/ water/
glycol sink glycol loop glycol water/ glycol glycol
loop loop glycol loop loop loop

Table 2. The power density and specific power of electric motors [14]
2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012
Parameter Prius Accord Camry LS 600h Prius Sonata Leaf
Peak power density (kW/L) 3.3 1.5 5.9 6.6 4.8 3.0 4.2
Peak specific power (kW/kg) 1.1 0.5 1.7 2.5 1.6 1.1 1.4
Magnet mass (kg) 1.232 N/A 0.928 1.349 0.768 N/A 1.895
Magnet mass per rating (g/kW) 24.64 N/A 8.84 8.43 12.8 N/A 23.69

motors/generators can be found in any modern vehicle.
This article will only focus on the traction motors for EVs
and HEVs. Among all passenger EVs and HEVs, a very
small number of models use an induction motor, including
the electric cars made by Tesla. General Motors also has an
induction motor design for the Chevy Spark. The Hyundai
Sonata uses a surface-mount permanent-magnet (PM)
machine. Almost all of the other major car companies use
an interior permanent-magnet (IPM) machine for EVs and
HEVs [4]–[6]. Other machine types may have been studied
but they have not been used in production. In some other
applications, such as electric bikes or off-highway vehicles,
machine topologies such as a switched-reluctance machine
are also used.
The induction machine is one of the oldest motor tech-
nologies. The comparison of the torque/speed curve of a
Tesla induction motor and an internal combustion engine
is shown in Figure 1; the electric motor has higher perfor-
mance at low speeds even compared to a high-perfor-
mance ICE. The high torque capability at low speeds that
electric motors offer allows great acceleration performance
to the vehicle. In addition, the efficiency of a typical elec-
tric motor for traction applications can be much higher
compared to ICEs, as will be shown in the next section,
and the high-efficient operation can be maintained in a
very wide operating range. Another advantage of high-
speed electric motors, compared to ICEs, is that they have
a regeneration capability that will greatly increase the
energy economy. The rotors of different types of PM
machines in EV/HEV applications are shown in Figure 2
[9]–[12]. Typically, one- or two-layer V-shaped interior PMs
are used. The rating and performance of the electric
motors in some passenger EVs/HEVs are shown in Table 1
[13]. There is a trend of using higher-speed electric motors
since the motor weight and volume will reduce rapidly as
the rotational speed becomes higher.
The specific power and power density of each IPM
machine used in different EHs/HEVs are shown in
Table 2 [14]. The specific power is typically below
2 kW/kg, except for the 2008 Lexus LS 600h. With the
increasing speed of the electric motors, the power den-
sity and specific power can increase to a higher level.
As a future trend, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
projects the power density and specific power to reach
5.7 kW/L and 1.6 kW/kg by 2020 [12]. The efficiency
maps of several IPM motors in passenger EVs/HEVs are
shown in Figure 3 [9], [12], [13].
Concentrated Windings and Distributed Windings
Among all of the production EVs and HEVs, most
motors use a distributed-winding configuration, as
shown in ­Figure 4 [9]. The 2011 Hyundai Sonata uses

16 IEEE Industry Applications Magazine œ j anuary/f ebruary 2017

 200 95
200 95
Peak Torque/Power Curve 90 180 Peak Torque/Power Curve
180 90
30 kW 85 160
160
80 140 85
Torque (N.m)

Torque (N.m)
140
75 120
120 80
70 100
100
65 80 75
80
60
60 60
55 70
40 50 40
20 20 65
45
0 0
0

1, 0
2, 0
2, 0
3, 0
3, 0
4, 0
4, 0
5, 0
5, 0
6, 0
0

00

00
50

00
50
00
50
00
50
00
50
00
50
00

00

00

00

00

,0

,0
1,

2,

4,

6,

8,

10

12
Speed (r/min) Speed (r/min)
(a) (b)

300 350

Max Test Condition 95 300 90

250
80 kW
90 250 85
200 Torque (N.m)
Torque (N.m)

200 80
150 85
150 75
100 80
100 70
50 75 50
65
0 70 0
0

00
0

0
00

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
00

00

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

00

00

00

00

00

00

,0
,0
1,

2,

1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
3,

4,

5,

6,

7,

8,

9,

10
10

Speed (r/min) Speed (r/min)

(c) (d)

FIGURE 3. Efficiency maps of several IPM motors in EVs/HEVs [9], [12], [13]: (a) 2011 Sonata, (b) 2010 Prius, (c) 2012 Nissan Leaf, and (d) 2008
Lexus LS 600h.

concentrated windings with 24 stator teeth, as shown in

Figure 5 [13]. From an advantage viewpoint, Figures 4
and 5 show that the end-winding length can be greatly
reduced for the concentrated windings. As a conse-
quence, the length of the motor can be reduced. In
addition, the slot fill factor of the concentrated wind-
ings can be heightened compared to the distributed
windings, in general. Therefore, the copper loss of the
concentrated windings is typically smaller. For concen-
trated windings, it is possible to utilize a segmented
stator so the machine manufacturability will be im-
proved. The PM machine using concentrated windings
will have improved constant-power-speed ranges com-
pared to the PM machine using distributed windings.
Finally, the s­maller, mutual inductances in the concen-
trated windings will also improve the machine-fault-tol-
erance capability.
However, a PM machine with concentrated windings
will usually require a high number of rotor poles (e.g., the FIGURE 4. The distributed winding configuration of a Prius 2004
2011 Sonata motor has 16 rotor poles). As a consequence, motor [9]. (Used with permission.)

j anuary /f e bruary 2017 œ IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 17


FIGURE 5. The concentrated winding configuration of a Hyundai Sonata
2011 motor [13]. (Used with permission.)
the excitation fundamental frequency will become very
high at high-speed operation. For this reason, the proximi-
ty and skin-effect loss could be an issue for the concen-
trated windings. In addition, the magnet eddy-current loss
in PM motors that are utilizing concentrated windings is
higher compared to those using distributed windings.
Therefore, a high rotor loss and the difficulty of rotor
cooling are challenging issues in concentrated winding
PM machines. In addition, the vibration risk of concentrat-
ed windings in PM machines is high. A detailed tradeoff
study is needed to choose either concentrated or distributed-
winding machines for vehicle-traction applications.
Rare Earth Magnets and Ferrite Magnets
For most EVs and HEVs, neodymium iron boron
(NdFeB) is typically used as the magnet material for
PM machines. The NdFeB magnet has very high re-
manent magnetization and magnetic energy storage,
which makes it preferable for designing high-torque-
density and high-power-density PM machines. How-
ever, due to the high price of rare earth materials,
some car manufacturers started to design PM ma-
chines using ferrite magnets for EVs and HEVs. For
example, General Motors announced the ferrite IPM
generator for the next generation of the Chevy Volt.
The disadvantage of a ferrite magnet is that its energy
product is much lower compared to rare earth mag-
nets. A ferrite PM motor with the same power and
speed rating tends to be much larger in size and has a
heavier weight. Another difference between ferrite
and rare earth magnets is that the ferrite magnet has
a positive temperature coefficient for coercivity, Hc.
The ferrite magnet becomes harder to demagnetize at
higher temperatures, while it is the opposite for rare
earth magnets. Therefore, corner-point designs with
respect to temperature should be carefully analyzed
for performance.
Compared to NdFeB and ferrite magnets, a samarium
cobalt (SmCo) permanent magnet can operate at much
higher temperatures. SmCo magnets have a lower remnant
flux density and coercivity and are less sensitive to temper-
ature variation. However, SmCo magnets are more brittle,
and the manufacturing should accommodate for this issue,
but they are still considered to be an alternative to NeFeB
magnets. The performance of some typical magnet materi-
als is shown in Table 3 [15].

Table 3. The performance of some magnet materials [15]

Maximum Remanence Coercivity
Temperature Range Used Temperature Temperature Curie
Magnet Temperature Coefficient a Coefficient b Temperature
Material Grade Min (°C) Max (°C) (°C) (%/°C) (%/°C) (°C)
Alnico, cast 5 20 100 + 520 −0.02 −0.01 900
Alnico, cast 8 20 100 + 520 −0.02 −0.01 860
Sm 2 Co 17 27 MGOe 20 120 350 −0.035 −0.2 810
SmCo 5 20 MGOe 20 120 250 −0.04 −0.40 700
NdFeB, bonded MQP-A, −O 20 100 110, 140 −0.13 −0.40 310
NdFeB, bonded MQP-B 20 100 110 −0.11 −0.40 360
NdFeB, bonded MQP-C, D 20 100 125, 110 −0.07 −0.40 470
NdFeB, sintered L-38UHT 20 180 180 −0.10 −0.50 350
NdFeB, sintered N38UJ 20 180 180 −0.12 −0.55 310
NdFeB, sintered N48M 20 100 100 −0.12 −0.65 210
Ferrite, sintered C-5, −8 20 120 250 −0.20 0.27 450

18 IEEE Industry Applications Magazine œ j anuary/f ebruary 2017

Power Electronics er are shown in Figure 7. The two
Power electronics is a technology inverters are basic two-level voltage-
enabling the development of HEVs Influenced by source inverter topologies, and the
and EVs. The specific requirements dc–dc converter is a bidirectional
for power electronics are low cost, both government buck/boost topology.
high reliability, high specific, and
power density. Depending on the car
regulations and Power Density and Specific Power
configuration, many different con- consumer demand, One critical requirement for the use
verters may be needed. For example, of power-electronic converters in
in the Toyota Prius, there exists a dc/ auto manufacturers automotive applications is to mini-
dc converter between the battery and
inverter dc bus inputs, two inverters
have continued to mize their size and weight. Carrying
power converters on board that are
to convert the dc-to-ac power and pursue technologies too large or too heavy will result in a
vice versa during regeneration, and a smaller space for passengers and
high battery voltage to low-­voltage to improve efficiency lower fuel economy. Hence, two
(12 V) dc/dc converter. Additional
power-electronic converters are
and fuel economy. important metrics, i.e., power density
and specific power, are used in this
needed for onboard charging, which section to illustrate the state-of-the-
converts the ac plug power to bat- art power-converter techniques. Typi-
tery voltage levels and to an inverter cally, the size and weight of a power
for a compressor for A/C. This is becoming increasingly converter is related to its power rating. The power densi-
important as EVs and HEVs continue to be used in grid ty is defined as the ratio of the converter volume to the
applications [16], [17]. converter power, and specific power is the ratio of the
weight over power. The specific power and power densi-
System Configurations of the Powertrain ty of each type of converter and power-control-unit
Typically, EVs and HEVs have two inverters in the elec-
tric power train, as shown in Figure 6. Inverter 1 is used
to drive the motor, which assists the ICE in providing
mechanical drive power for the vehicle and also acts as
a generator to recharge the battery during regenerative Bidirectional
breaking. Inverter 2 connects to the generator, which Inverter 2 dc–dc
transfers power from the ICE to recharge the battery Converter
Inverter 1
and also uses the ICE as a power source to supply to Generator
the motor [9]. Depending on system considerations, Battery
there may be a bidirectional dc–dc converter between Motor
the battery pack and dc bus, which is shared by the two Engine Transmission Energy Management
inverters. The dc–dc converter can be used to regulate
the dc link voltage during transient operations [19]. The
schematics for the two inverters and the dc–dc convert- FIGURE 6. A schematic of a powertrain in an HEV [18].

Bidirectional dc–dc Converter

Motor Inverter Generator Inverter
IPM

Filter Motor
Inductor Capacitors Generator

Smoothing
Filter Capacitor
Capacitor

201.6 V
Battery
201.6 V–650 Vdc

FIGURE 7. A power conversion system of a 2010 Prius PCU between battery and electric machines [9].

j anuary /f e bruary 2017 œ IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 19

 Table 4. The power density and specific power of converters [9]
Power DC Bus Volume Power Density Mass Specific Power
Converter Type (kW) Voltage (V) (L) (kW/L) (kg) (kW/kg)
PCU for 2010 Prius 60 200 16.2 3.70 13 4.62
PCU for 2007 Camry 70 250 11.7 5.98 17.4 4.02
PCU for 2008 LS 600h 110 288 13.7 8.03 17.9 6.15
Motor inverter for 2010 60 200 5.4 11.11 3.6 16.67
Prius
Buck/boost for 2010 Prius 27 200 4.8 5.63 5.1 5.29
Motor inverter for 2004 50 200 8.7 5.75 8.8 5.68
Prius
Buck/boost for 2004 Prius 20 200 5.1 3.92 4.8 4.17
Motor inverter for 2007 70 250 6 11.67 7.5 9.33
Camry
Buck/boost for 2007 30 250 3.5 8.57 6.6 4.55
Camry
Motor inverter for 2008 110 288 6.4 17.19 7.4 14.86
LS 600h
Buck/boost for 2008 LS 36.5 288 4 9.13 6.9 5.29
600h

(a) (b) (c) (d)

FIGURE 8. A comparison of a PCU module with four HEV models: (a) a 2004 Prius; (b) a 2007 Camry, 17.4 kg, 11.7 L; (c) a 2010 Prius, 13.0 kg,
16.2 L; and (d) a 2008 Lexus LS 600h, 17.9 kg, 13.7 L. [9]. (Used with permission.)

(PCU) modules are listed in Table 4 for four HEV models,

the 2010 Prius, 2004 Prius, 2007 Camry, and 2008 LS
Main Capacitor Module 600h. The PCU modules from these four HEV models are
also compared side by side in Figure 8.
The 2008 Lexus LS 600h has the most compact design
among the models compared, having an 8.03-kW/L power
Driver/Control Boards
and Power Terminals density and 6.15-kW/kg specific power. Its submodules,
such as dc–dc converters and motor inverters, also have
Power-
Electronics the highest power density and specific power. This can be
Module partially due to the relatively large power rating of the
• 12-V Accessory Converter LS  600h PCU (110 kW), which is also the largest among
Cooling
• Inductor/Small Caps Infrastructure the other models. As an example, Figure 9 shows the com-
partments of the 2010 Prius PCU. To achieve the high
FIGURE 9. The compartments of a 2010 Prius PCU [9]. (Used with power density and specific power, an optimized packaging
permission.) layout solution is the top key point.

20 IEEE Industry Applications Magazine œ j anuary/f ebruary 2017

 Table 5. A Comparison of key parameters for different devices [18]
Si IGBT SiC MOSFET Si IGBT
Device Parameters with Si Diode with SiC SBD with SiC SBD
Maximum junction temperature, T j - max (cC) 175 135** 150
Thermal resistance junction to case, R ijc (cC / W) 0.7 0.44 0.34
Turn-on delay time, t don (s) 2.00e-8 1.30e-8 4.00e-8
Voltage fall time, t fv (s) 1.11e-7 2.40e-8 2.30e-7
Turn-off delay time, t doff (s) 1.02e-7 4.00e-8 2.32e-7
Voltage rise time, t rv (s) 4.00e-8 3.80e-8 5.30e-8
Voltage drop across drain to source, Vds (V ) 4.0 2.2 2.5
Turn on energy, E on (J) 1.95e-3 3.15e-4 9.15e-4
Turn-off energy, E off (J) 1.35e-3 2.85e-4 2.01e-3

**Limited by currently available packaging technology.

Application of SiC and GaN Devices

700
Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor material [i.e., sili-
600
con carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN)]-based pow-
Power Loss (W)

500
er-switching devices will potentially become a game
400
changer for automotive power-electronic converters
300
with their superior properties compared to the conven-
200
tional Si-material-based technology. Compared to Si
100
devices, the major advantages of WBG devices are lower
0
onstate resistance, faster switching transition, and high-
z

z
kH

kH

kH

kH

kH

kH

kH

kH
er temperature capability. Table 5 compares the Si-insu-
0

20

20

50

50

0
i2

10

15

20
lated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) (IRG7PH30K10PbF)
rid

iC

rid

iC
l-S

iC

iC

iC
l-S

l-S
yb

yb
Al

l-S

l-S

and Si diode (DSEP 29-12A) combination, the SiC metal– l-S

Al

Al
H

Al

Al

Al

oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) Switching Loss

(CMF20120D) and SiC diode (C4D40120D) combination,
and a hybrid Si IGBT and SiC diode module (GA35X-
CP12-247). In Table 5, the thermal characteristics of the
SiC devices appear to be worse than the Si devices
(135 °C versus 175/150 °C); however, this is due to the
current packaging limitations of the available SiC devic-
es and is expected to change in the near future. Even
with this limitation, it is obvious that the SiC MOSFET
with SiC Schottky barrier diode (SBD) combination only
has a 1/7 switching loss and half conduction loss com-
pared to the Si IGBT/diode combination, so the temper-
ature rise of the device is expected to be less.
The benefits of using WBG devices in automobile
applications can be explored in two aspects. By keeping
the switching frequencies of the converter the same, a
significant loss reduction can be achieved by replac-
ing Si devices with WBG devices. As a result, fuel econ-
omy improves, and there will be a reduction in cooling
­systems. On the other hand, by significantly increasing
the WBG converter’s switching frequency, a considerable
reduction in filter size will result, while the efficiency is
Conduction Loss
Inductor + Capacitor Loss
FIGURE 10. The power loss on converters of various switching
frequencies under a full-load condition [18].
not compromised, as compared to the converter’s Si
counterparts. Figures 10 and 11 show the dc/dc convert-
er loss and efficiency as a function of switching frequen-
cies while using three different device combinations.
The corresponding converter size and weight as a function
of the switching frequency is also shown in Figure 12. The
SiC PCU can achieve a 90% loss reduction compared to
an Si PCU, thus leading to a 10% mi/gal improvement in
HEVs [17].
Future Trends in Power Electronics
The future trends for power converters in EVs and
HEVs include high power ratings, high efficiency,
low weight, and low volume. Continued automotive

j anuary /f e bruary 2017 œ IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 21

 c­ onverter enhancements depend on be in its infancy, so it is expected
improvements in semiconductor that the technology will continue to
materials, innovations in packaging One critical mature, reducing price and size and
technology, new designs for cooling increasing capacity. All of these
systems, and a revolution in con- requirement for effects are crucial to the continued
verter topologies.
the use of power- growth of the EV and HEV industry.
According to the studies done in
Energy Storage electronic converters [21], in 2010 the cost of an EV bat-
tery per kilowatt-hour (kWh) ranged
Battery Metrics in automotive from US$600 to US$1,105. Progress
Perhaps the most important, and
currently the most expensive, com-
applications is to in the last five years has brought the
estimated price near US$500/kWh. A
ponent relative to the feasibility of minimize their size continued reduction in the price per
HEVs and especially electric-only unit of energy is necessary for the
vehicles is the energy-storage sys- and weight. continued integration of EVs into
tem, i.e., the battery. In EVs, the bat- the marketplace.
tery is the fundamental piece that In addition, the energy density
determines the most user-interested (Whr/L)/specific energy (Whr/kg) of
functions of the vehicle, including range, acceleration, the battery is equally important for the growth of EVs.
and cost. Battery technology can still be considered to These aspects are crucial because the battery’s weight and

100 9 9

99.5 IGBT 8 8
Hybrid
7 7
Overall Efficiency (%)

99 SiC FET
Total Weight (kg)

Total Volume (L)

6 6
98.5
5 5
98
4 4
97.5
3 3
97
2 2
96.5
1 1
96 0 0
0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200
Switching Frequency (kHz) Switching Frequency (kHz)

FIGURE 11. The efficiencies of converters at various switching FIGURE 12. The total weight and volume of the converters as a
frequencies under a full-load condition [18]. function of the switching frequency [18].

Table 6. A comparison of battery cell types

Lead-Acid NiMH Li-Ion
Starting,
Lighting, Plug-In Hybrid
Ignition Advanced HEV BEV HEV Electric Vehicle–BEV
Nominal cell V 20 2 1.2 1.2 3.3–3.8 3.3–3.8
voltage
Energy density Wh/l 60 75 100 250 150 200–400
Specific energy Wh/kg 25 40 50 100 90 120–200
Power density W/l 1,200 600 2000–2500 500–800 3500–9000 800–2200
Specific power W/kg 500 250 1000–1300 200–400 2000–4000 500–1200

22 IEEE Industry Applications Magazine œ j anuary/f ebruary 2017

volume in a vehicle are highly influ- tion braking. Optimizing all of these
ential to the range and acceleration factors, including the cost, is an
performance of the vehicle. Volume is In EVs, the battery ongoing challenge.
equally significant because there is a
very finite amount of space within a is the fundamental Current Vehicles
vehicle for the battery; so being able
to incorporate more energy into the
piece that determines Globally, all car manufacturers are
exploring some type of HEV or EV;
same amount of space is greatly val- the most user- however, the battery type, size, and
ued. Currently, many battery types other characteristics greatly vary.
exist, and various types are used interested functions Table 7 summarizes the battery speci-
in vehicles to optimize customer
demands, i.e., total cost and range.
of the vehicle. fications of recent production vehi-
cles. Other details that are important
The two main types of batteries to manufacturers include the battery
that have been implemented in EVs cooling mechanism, voltage level, and
and HEVs are from the nickel-metal- range. Manufacturers must optimize
hydride (NiMH) family or from the lithium-ion (Li-ion) their battery to not only meet the consumer demands (i.e.,
family. These vary both in chemical and electrical prop- range, lifetime, charging time, and cost) but also to work
erties, and some of their most important qualities are most efficiently with the entire vehicle system, such as
presented in Table 6 along with the specifications of proper electric machine development and the control of
lead-acid batteries. As shown in the table, the battery
application has a noticeable impact on its characteristics.
For example, current lead-acid batteries that are used for
140
starting, lighting, and ignition are more power dense
than energy dense, as these functions require a smaller 120 Li-Ion BEV
Specific Energy (Wh/kg)

amount of energy in a short time. In contrast, newer Li-Ion HEV

100
advanced lead-acid batteries can have improvements in
energy density, but this has come at the expense of 80
power density.
60 NiMH HEV
Similarly, for NiMH and Li-ion batteries, their charac-
teristics depend on the type of vehicle in which they are 40
found. As shown in Table 6, batteries for HEVs are much 20 Asymmetric Battery
more power dense than energy dense, which is due to Ultracapacitor
the usage of the battery, as it is used more as an assist to 0
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000
the ICE in an HEV. The battery’s power compensation 10s Specific Power (W/kg)
ability is more important than its energy capacity, as the
ICE handles a large bulk of the power and is able to
FIGURE 13. The specific energy versus the specific power for energy-
recharge the battery often. In battery or plug-in EVs, the storage technologies.
battery is solely responsible for providing energy to the
vehicle over a specified range. This requires a larger energy-
dense capacity; and, for these types of batteries, this
comes at the expense of the power density. This trend is 1,000
Li-Air
shown in Figure 3 and is an important tradeoff made by
800 Long-Term
Energy Density (Wh/l)

manufacturers as they attempt to optimize their technolo-

Goal
gy based on c­ ustomer demands.
Advanced Li-Ion
Figures 13 and 14 also compare different energy- 600
Near- Li-S
storage technologies, showing important variability in Term
their energy and power characteristics. It is important 400 Goal
to note that ­gasoline for ICEs has specific energy and Rechargeable
density that is off the chart in Figure 14, leaving plenty 200 Current Zn-Air
of room for growth of energy-storage technology. As Li-Ion
NiMH
can be seen from these tables and figures, Li-ion batter- 0
0

0
0
0

0
0

0
0

ies are better than NiMH batteries in terms of energy

10

30
40

50

60
70

80
90

00

10
20

1,

1,

density, specific energy, and specific power. Specific Specific Energy (Wh/kg)
power (W/kg) is important in terms of vehicle perfor-
mance, such as acceleration, and is also a factor in the FIGURE 14. The energy density versus the specific energy for energy
amount of energy that can be captured from regenera- storage in HEVs.

j anuary /f e bruary 2017 œ IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 23

 solid-state power converters. These
advancements have led to a diverse
implementation of ­batteries in EV and
HEV systems.
Future Goals
Both the U.S. Department of Energy
and the U.S. Advanced Battery Con-
sortium (USABC) have established
different goals for the development
of battery technology. In 2012, the
DOE issued a ten-year battery chal-
lenge to enable large-scale market
penetration of EVs [22]. In addition,
the USABC has set similar short-
and long-term goals for battery performance with dif-
ferent goals for batteries for HEVs, battery-electric
vehicles (BEVs), and even 48-V microhybrid-type batter-
ies. These general goals are labeled in Figure 14. The
detailed goals can be found in [23] and are published
by the USABC, but there are a few similarities worth
discussing. Perhaps one overlooked characteristic of the
battery, especially for EV applications, is its lifetime.
Since batteries are one of the more expensive vehicle
components, replacing the battery is not a viable option
for the consumer, so the ­battery needs to last as long as
possible. The published goal for all future EV batteries
is a minimum of 15 years or 300,000 cycles. The
recharge time is also an important goal and is closely
related to the developments in
charging and rapid-charging stations.
For NiMH and These goals, as well as the energy-
and power density goals, will drive
Li-ion batteries, continued energy-storage technolo-
their characteristics gy improvements. It is also of great
importance to fully understand the
depend on the type of impact of the energy-storage type,
even at the system level, as it has
vehicle in which they been shown to be influential in
are found. drive-train efficiency [24].
Thus, energy storage is of the
utmost importance for the continued
large-scale market penetration of EVs
and HEVs. A continual reduction in
battery cost along with the  maturation of different bat-
tery chemistries and technologies that can improve per-
formance are crucial to the growth of the industry. As
Li-ion advancements plateau, the field will turn to other
solutions, perhaps Li-air or ­Li-metal, to continue develop-
ments. Improvements in energy storage are not only
important for EVs but will also enable other green technol-
ogies, contributing to a more sustainable environment.
Conclusions
Considering the metrics and benchmarks of the state-of-
the-art technologies presented in this article, the future of
EVs and HEVs is exciting. Research and development
continue throughout the industry to improve the fuel

Table 7. A comparison of vehicle battery types

Toyota Prius Toyota Prius Tesla Model S
HEV/EV 2010 HEV 2012 Plug-In* Chevy Volt 2013 Nissan Leaf 2011 2013*
Chemistry NiMH Li-ion Li-ion Li-ion Li-ion
Rated pack 1.31 4.4 16.5 24 85/60
energy (kWh)
Rated pack 6.5 18.7 45 66.2 214.6
capacity (Ah)
Electric-only EPA 0.5 11 40 84 265/208
range (mi)
Rated system 201.6 207.2 355.2 364.8 345.6/302.4
voltage (V)
Rated cell 1.2 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.6
Voltage (V)
Number of cells 168 56 288 192 7,104/6,216
Number of modules 28 1 9 48 16/14
Weight (kg) 42 80 181.4 294 ~544
Thermal Active air cooled Active air cooled Active liquid cooled Passive vacuum- Active liquid
management sealed unit cooled

* Data are collected from the web, which may not be accurate.

24 IEEE Industry Applications Magazine œ j anuary/f ebruary 2017

economy and efficiency of these
vehicles. As the various technologies
improve, EVs and HEVs will become The published
cost competitive in all aspects com-
pared to the ICE vehicle. This is of goal for all future
great significance globally, as EVs EV batteries is a
and HEVs will enable reductions in
CO2 and NO X emissions, reducing minimum of 15 years
the impact of vehicles on the envi-
ronment. These improvements will or 300,000 cycles.
bring the discussed state-of-the-art
technologies closer to meeting gov-
ernment and consumer requirements,
but these requirements can only be fully met by continu-
ing research efforts and development.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank Oliver Gross of Fiat Chrys-
ler for Figures 13 and 14 and Table 6, created for an energy
short course at the University of Wisconson–Madison.
Author Information
Bulent Sarlioglu (bulent@engr.wisc.edu), Casey T. Mor-
ris, Di Han, and Silong Li are with the Wisconsin Elec-
tric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium,
Madison. Sarlioglu is a Senior Member of the IEEE. Morris,
Han, and Li are Student Members of the IEEE. This article
first appeared as “Benchmarking of Electric and Hybrid
Vehicle Electric Machines, Power Electronics, and Batter-
ies” at the ACEMP 2015 International Conference on Opti-
mization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and the
2015 International Symposium on Advanced Electrome-
chanical Motion Systems. This article was reviewed by the
IAS Transportation Systems Committee.
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