eVehicle Technology
Hillcrest Energy Technologies, a clean technology company developing transformative power conversion technologies and control system solutions for next-generation electrical systems, has announced plans to deploy a comprehensive inverter technology platform based on its initial product offering, a high-efficiency silicon carbide traction inverter for electric vehicles.
Hillcrest’s traction inverter represents a new class of inverter technology that solves many common challenges faced by today’s EV powertrains. Lighter, more compact and more efficient than current inverters, the Hillcrest high-efficiency inverter enables reduced overall vehicle weight, increased payload and range capability and reduced heat production/loss, thereby optimizing performance and reliability.
“We set out to be a market leader in developing and deploying next-generation energy solutions,” said Ari Berger, Hillcrest CTO. “As technology-forward experts, we are uniquely positioned to execute to our vision and deliver high-efficiency inverter solutions that have the potential to revolutionize global electrification. We’ve already achieved inverter efficiencies exceeding 99% at switching frequencies up to 60 kHz – enabling further efficiency enhancements in the overall system, such as electric motors. These accomplishments exceed any other inverter solutions we’ve seen on the market thus far. Moving forward, we will continue to strive for more ground breaking improvements as we develop additional applications.”
In addition to electric vehicles and the mobility industry, the Hillcrest inverter technology platform can improve efficiency and reliability across a variety of end uses and applications where inverters play a key role, including grid-tied renewables, charging and storage systems, and high voltage/high power applications such as utility-scale grid, rail and container ships.
“Based on the addressable markets and our technology development timeline we initially optimized our inverter design for vehicle electrification and other e-mobility uses,” stated Hillcrest CEO Don Currie. “Conversations with more than a dozen automakers and automotive suppliers have validated the value proposition for our inverter technology to meet not only current, but future EV needs.”
“We also recognized the value our inverter offers in numerous other high-potential applications beyond vehicle electrification,” Currie continued, “and are hard at work on the development of a grid-connected power generation application with a commercial prototype planned within the next 12 months.”
The adaptable architecture inherent in Hillcrest’s technology greatly reduces the time needed to design a wide range of applications and allows technical integration of the high-efficiency inverter into nearly any platform. Accordingly, Hillcrest engineers are simultaneously developing an enhanced electric powertrain and several additional inverter applications to be detailed as they mature.
Hillcrest inverter technology, through a combination of hardware and innovative control software expertise, enables power applications to leverage higher switching frequencies, realize improved power system performance and reliability, and operate at higher power levels without compromising efficiency.
Over the coming weeks, the Company expects to release its first technical whitepaper on the Hillcrest inverter technology. The first paper will include test results confirming the material elimination of switching losses and inverter efficiency exceeding 99%.
