Automotive Power Supply (OBC+DC/DC+PDU) and Integrated Circuits (IC) Industry Report, 2023
Automotive power supply and IC: Chinese chips are promising in the evolution from physical integration to system integration
As the core component of a new energy vehicle, automotive power supply is mainly used to convert the electric energy of the power battery into the voltage and current suitable for the vehicle, and also provides stable power support for the electrical equipment inside the vehicle. The surging new energy vehicle sales spur the boom of automotive power supply market.
OBCs, DC/DC converters and PDUs in automotive power supply can be independent components or integrated systems. As per the product structure of mainstream suppliers in recent two years, the proportion of independent components is declining sharply, while the shipments of "two-in-one", "three-in-one" and "all-in-one" integrated forms are jumping.
All-in-one solution from physical integration to system integration
The integration trend of automotive power supply is clear, and OBCs, DC/DC converters and PDUs are further integrated with electric drive and ECU. FinDreams Powertrain, Changan NE, Huawei Digital Power, etc. are all promoting the all-in-one electric drive assembly integrated with OBCs. The mode of high integration can save space, reduce weight and improve the overall efficiency.
In the future, the "all-in-one" integrated solution will evolve from mechanical hardware integration to power components integration, and deeply integrate software with the backend to form a control domain for the drive system - fully combining battery data, electric drive data, charging data, etc., evolving towards the power domain controller.
Huawei: the hyper-converged "ten-in-one" power domain module launched in April 2023 pioneers chip integration, power integration, function integration and domain controller integration to reduce the BOM by 40% and the number of chips by 60%, thus improving the development efficiency of automakers by 30%. In addition, it enables more concise layout of the front cabin of vehicles, releases more interior space and provides better comfort experiences for occupants.
ST: ST New Energy Vehicle Innovation Center has built a range of system solutions based on Stella series, including the 22kW Stellar E-based OBC-DC/DC combined solution and the Stella P-based all-in-one powertrain domain controller.
The all-in-one powertrain domain controller is based on ST’s latest Stellar P series automotive MCU, and integrates the following components: main drive inverter, vehicle control unit (VCU), battery management unit (BMU) motherboard, on-board charger (OBC) and DC/DC converter. The highly integrated solution improves power density, reduces the number of high/low-voltage connectors, and optimizes the cost of hardware BOM and software development and maintenance.
Localization is promising in the upstream supply chain of automotive power supply.
Silicon carbide is widely used in automotive power supply products.
Conventional silicon-based power semiconductors can only limitedly improve the efficiency and power density of automotive power supply, while SiC power devices have advantages in on-resistance, blocking voltage and junction capacitance, and are rapidly introduced in high-end new energy electric vehicles.
OBCs and DC/DC converters have started wide adoption of SiC devices, for instance, PFC diodes are replaced by SiC SBDs, or DC/DC primary circuit MOS tubes of OBCs are substituted by SiC MOS, and all-SiC solution is expected to enter the stage of mass application soon.
So far, BYD, Tesla, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Geely, Renault, SAIC Volkswagen and Nissan among others have used the third-generation SiC semiconductor devices in automotive power supply.
Infineon: In June 2023, Infineon presents its new generation of 1200 V CoolSiC? MOSFETs in TO263-7 for automotive applications. The automotive-graded silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET generation offers high power density and efficiency, enables bi-directional charging and significantly reduces system cost in on-board charging (OBC) and DC-DC applications.
In addition, the 1200 V CoolSiC family member offers best-in-class switching performance through 25% lower switching losses and lowers the SiC MOSFET junction temperature by 25%, compared to the first generation.
The pace of homemade automotive power supply MCUs in China replacing imported counterparts quickens.
At present, major automotive power supply IC vendors are working to improve product performance to meet ever higher requirements.
TI: In the existing automotive power supply system, customers often have high requirements for high efficiency and better thermal performance. Both OBCs and communication power supply products are getting smaller, and the switching frequency is also becoming higher, posing bigger EMI challenges. In March 2023, TI introduced standalone active electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter integrated circuits (ICs), enabling engineers to implement smaller, lighter EMI filters, to enhance system functionality at reduced system cost while simultaneously meeting EMI regulatory standards.
The new portfolio of stand-alone active EMI filter ICs can sense and cancel common-mode EMI by as much as 30 dB at frequencies between 100 kHz and 3 MHz in single- and three-phase AC power systems. This capability enables designers to reduce the size of chokes by 50%, compared to purely passive filter solutions.
Currently, ST and TI's solutions prevail in the automotive power supply market, especially TI's C2000 series chips that are still seen in popular electric models, such as Xpeng P7, and are used by mainstream OBC/DC-DC suppliers such as Shinry Technologies and Zhejiang EV-Tech as the main control chips.
In the recent two years, Chinese main control chip suppliers have stood a chance to replace foreign counterparts with the products made in China. Domestic suppliers have accelerated their layout in the field of main control chips, and are developing from basic OBC and DC-DC applications to all-in-one dynamic domains.
Automotive Power Supply (OBC+DC/DC+PDU) and Integrated Circuits (IC) Industry Report, 2023 by ResearchInChina highlights the following:
Automotive power supply (technology trends, market size, products & solutions, etc.);
On-board charger (OBC) (product structure, technology development trends, market size, structure of main suppliers, price trend, etc.);
DC/DC converter (technology trends, market size, competitive landscape, cost structure, main solutions, etc.);
Power distribution unit (PDU) (product structure, technology trends, market size, competitive landscape, cost structure, solutions of main suppliers, etc.);
Main automotive power supply components (MCU, power supply IC, relay, PFC converter, etc.) (product structure, main suppliers and products, etc.);
Main automotive power supply suppliers (product line, technology layout, product price, main customers, market position, etc.).
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