A Reconfigurable Topology for Integration of Removable Batteries in an Electric Powertrain With 400 V and 800 V Compatibility

Resumen

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a sustainable solutionfor transportation, which on-board batteries play a fundamentalrole. To enhance the flexibility of EV energy management andcontribute to overall performance improvements in the electricpowertrain, the integration of a removable battery emerges asan alternative approach. This solution is suitable for both thewidely adopted 400 V bus standard and the emerging 800 Vstandard, which is gaining acceptance in the commercial vehiclemarket due to its promising features. This paper presents areconfigurable topology with the ability to connect a removablebattery to both the 400 V and 800 V buses. An externally chargedremovable battery offers an additional level of flexibility, allowingfor external charging and the option to adjust the EV capacitybased on the chosen route. The proposed reconfigurable topologycan operate at both the 400 V and 800 V standards withoutany external switch to adapt to each voltage level. Thanks tothe modularity of the proposed technology, voltage and currentmaximum ratings of the semiconductors are not increased due tothe use of the 800 V standard. The topology is based on the DualActive Bridge (DAB) converter utilizing the Input Parallel OutputParallel (IPOP) and the Input Parallel Output Series (IPOS)configurations. Experimental results on a downscaled prototypedemonstrate the performance and feasibility of the reconfigurabletopology.