Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles: A Review of Traction Inverters, Dc–Dc Converters, Charging Systems, Battery Management and Wide-Bandgap Devices

Electric vehicles are replacing internal combustion vehicles in many markets, and power electronics is the technology that makes this transition possible. Every flow of energy in an electric vehicle, from the charging socket to the battery, from the battery to the traction motor, and from the high-voltage pack to the low-voltage accessories, passes through a power electronic converter. This review presents the major power electronic subsystems of a battery electric vehicle: the traction inverter that converts DC to variable-frequency AC, the bidirectional and auxiliary DC–DC converters, the onboard AC–DC charger and the off-board DC fast charger, together with the battery management system that supervises the pack. Motor control by pulse width modulation and field-oriented control is explained. The role of wide-bandgap semiconductors, silicon carbide and gallium nitride, in raising efficiency, switching frequency and power density is discussed and compared with silicon devices. Thermal management, electromagnetic compatibility and functional safety are reviewed as system-level design concerns. A complete power-flow architecture of an electric vehicle is presented, and representative studies are compared. Challenges and future directions, including 800 V architectures, extreme fast charging, integrated chargers and vehicle-to-grid operation, are identified.