Loss Comparison of Electric Vehicle Fuel Cell Integration Methods

TL;DR

This paper compares drivetrain losses in electric vehicle fuel cell integration methods, showing that a dual inverter system improves energy efficiency over a conventional system through reduced switching losses.

Contribution

It introduces a mathematical and simulation-based comparison of two fuel cell integration methods, highlighting the efficiency benefits of the dual inverter approach.

Findings

Dual inverter system improves efficiency by 5.27% (highway) and 10.13% (urban).

Lower voltage modules and switching frequency reduce losses.

Simulation confirms the efficiency gains of the dual inverter method.

Abstract

This study analyzes and compares the drivetrain losses of two methods of fuel cell integration in electric vehicle drivetrains. The first is a conventional (boosted) two-stage system while the second is a dual inverter based solution. Each source of drivetrain losses is described by mathematical equations and the impact of higher order harmonics are observed through circuit model simulation. The dual inverter system achieves an overall energy efficiency improvement of 5.27% and 10.13% for highway and urban driving compared to the conventional method. The use of lower voltage rated power modules and lower switching frequency in the dual inverter system has significantly reduced the switching losses and improved the driving efficiency.