Traction Voltage Level in Two-Wheelers: Considerations on Safety and Performance

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Most electric 2-wheelers on the market today seek to replace combustion engine vehicles from 50cc to 150cc which equates to an electric motor power between 2 and 12 kW. The traction voltage level of these vehicles is mostly between 44V and 96V. However, the actual choice of voltage on a specific vehicle seems to be arbitrary and higher voltage does not necessarily correlate with higher motor power.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper seeks to highlight considerations and tradeoffs which feed the choice of traction voltage levels. Important criteria are electrical safety standards and their impact on vehicle electrical architecture, the performance and availability of key electronics parts such as capacitors, MOSFETs, and gate drivers, while also highlighting functional safety aspects.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper shows by a comprehensive analysis of the motor drive that for the vehicle class mentioned above the traction voltage level can be kept below 60V without any performance impact, while also ensuring electrical and functional safety.</div></div>