Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD
Welcome to the January edition of Power Systems Design! The majority of people start the year full of enthusiasm. At the end of each year, we look back and evaluate how it has gone and where we have fallen short. We then take those learnings, look to the future and make resolutions about what and how we will change to be even better in the coming year. Often, reality gets in the way and the resolutions fall by the wayside.
Manufacturers and designers go through much the same process. Any good company will have regular assessments about what they have done right or wrong and consider how things can be improved, and again, there are often external factors that lay waste to the most carefully made plans. It seems like that in the EV industry at the moment, as the charging infrastructure struggles to keep up with demand, and governments around the world openly wonder whether they should keep to their deadlines for the phase-out of ICE vehicles, extend them, or scrap them altogether. Other countries have already gotten rid of incentives for new EV buyers. All that companies throughout the EV supply chain can do when this happens is continue to make components that are smaller, lighter, provide better performance, and provide higher levels of safety to make better vehicles and hope that consumers continue to vote for EVs with their wallets.
We look at some of those innovations as we return to the subject of EV, Hybrids, & Charging Infrastructure for our January Special Report. The section this month contains two articles that are very different from each other, and demonstrate the breadth of the area, which is one of the reasons that the subject returns to our pages so regularly.
The first article in the Special Report demonstrates how every component supplier is trying to innovate, even in areas that are traditionally pretty conservative, such as electromechanical contactors and relays. These components are usually large and heavy, due to the coil and contacts, while EV manufacturers demand every components to be as small and light as possible. The article tells how Omron Components has cut the size of electromechanical switches while keeping their ability to handle high currents, and even adding in extra features.
As automotive manufacturers are innovating so quickly, they have to be sure that they are not sacrificing safety in the rush to increase performance. Simulation can help cut costs, but thorough physical testing is vital. The second article in this month’s Special Report was contributed by Emerson, and it looks at how simulation can be used to enhance physical testing.
As well as the Special Report, this month’s issue also contains articles of interest to power engineers in our Tech Focus section, as well as the latest news and views from the industry.
Best Regards,
Ally Winning
European Editor, PSD
PDF