Infineon is a partner of theID.3 Tour Volkswagen is holding in Germany to present its new electric vehicle model, which will be driven by Rainer Zietlow and Dominic Brüner. The stage tour started in Oberstdorf on 28 September and will end in early December on the island of Sylt. Along the way, the 'marathon' will stop at all German fast-charging stations with a capacity of more than 60 kilowatts. Stops on the tour will also be made at Infineon's sites in Warstein, where the power modules are produced, and Dresden, where the chips are manufactured.
"The demand for electric mobility in Germany is increasing rapidly," said Stephan Zizala, Vice President and General Manager Automotive High Power at Infineon, responsible for power semiconductors for electronic cars. According to data from the German Federal Transport Authority, more than 160,000 electric cars were registered in Germany between January and August 2020, a number that represents an increase of more than 150% over the previous year.
Volkswagen's ID.3 has more than 50 Infineon components - power semiconductors, microcontrollers and drivers - on board. At the heart of Infineon's solutions is the HybridPACK™ family of power modules for power conversion between battery and engine.
Overall, 15 of the world's 20 best-selling electric and plug-in hybrid cars in 2019 use Infineon power semiconductors.
Semiconductors and electric mobility
Semiconductors play a decisive role in improving the range, charging times and costs of electric mobility. Power electronics convert the direct current from the battery into alternating current for the electric motor and convert the energy recovered during braking into direct current, so that it is stored in the battery. At the charging stations, the semiconductors ensure that as much energy as possible reaches the car. In addition, new generations of semiconductors allow for significantly faster charging than in the past.
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