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Hillcrest Energy Technologies announces development of High Efficiency Inverter for EVs

VANCOUVER — Hillcrest Energy Technologies, a clean tech and e-mobility development company, announces it is developing a next-generation High Efficiency Inverter (HEI) designed to improve the energy and power efficiencies of future Electric Vehicle (EV) powertrains and other e-mobility and motorized applications, as well as charging stations and power generation systems.

Now in proof-of-concept development, HEI builds on the close integration of hardware and software technologies from Hillcrest and Systematec, configured to deliver the very precise and accurate control systems required to unleash an inverter’s ultra-high efficiency potential. Hillcrest’s HEI will use extremely high switching frequency to deliver substantial energy and power efficiency gains over existing inverter technology. Adaptive control mechanisms will also be incorporated to enable wide operating ranges, beneficial to highly dynamic systems such as EV’s.

“Working closely with Systematec, we have already confirmed our HEI control architecture with computer simulations and are now aggressively developing our HEI proof-of-concept prototypes for demonstration and eventual commercialization,” said Ari Berger, Hillcrest CTO. “This is our first aggressive development push, but I can confirm it’s not the only groundbreaking technology currently in development.”

Inverters are essential components of EV and other electric powertrains, providing critical connectivity between battery and electric motor. Not only do they convert a battery’s DC charge to AC to drive a motor, but inverters also time the switching changes to adjust the frequency of the AC output that controls motor speed. Higher switching speeds remain a constant priority for EV developers as they lead to significant decrease in switching losses and increased efficiency. The faster and more efficient the inverter, the more efficient a vehicle, electric motor or powertrain can become.

Hillcrest will access the team’s connections with EV and electrical equipment manufacturing companies to define and develop specific applications. Other opportunities include licensing HEI technology to, or partnering with, EV, electrical equipment manufacturers and/or power generation equipment manufacturers to substantially improve their product designs for mass produced electric powertrain products.