2021 will go down as a terrible year for carmakers that collectively expect to lose more than $100 billion in revenues primarily due to a shortage of chips needed for modern vehicles.
The industry has responded in multiple ways, including vehicle OEMs that are striking deals with chipmakers to guarantee future supplies of needed components. In some cases, the largest OEMs are even developing plans to design and oversee fabrication of their own chips.
Also, design engineers are creating workarounds and new components to continue vehicle production, including new electric vehicle (EV) hardware and software designs.
“EVs have a heavy reliance on semiconductors to control the charging and power delivery of the battery systems and electric motors,” said Neil Stroud, head of automotive at CoreAVI, a company based in Tampa, Florida, that makes a range of software and embedded processor products. “It is forcing developers to think about their overall development philosophy.”
Stroud said that supply constraints make it difficult to rely on software stacks in embedded use cases where the software is highly tailored to a specific underlying semiconductor. It can be difficult to take that same software and run it natively on a different device.
Workarounds are possible with open standards such as OpenGL, Open VC and Vulcan, he said. “This approach still allows the developer to innovate and differentiate but can provide a level of abstraction from the hardware platform…It is possible to support multiple platforms,” he said. Re-use of software increases the return on investment and can provide “some level of protection against future supply issues.”
An example of recent hardware innovations in the EV world comes from Vicor, a maker of high performance power modules based in Andover, Massachusetts. The company has produced what it calls a “ virtual battery” module that can be used to replace the physical 12V battery still used in EVs in addition to their lithium-ion battery packs used for vehicle traction that are often as large as the chassis of the vehicle.
The 12V battery, usually about 25 pounds, is still used in EVs to support vehicle subsystems such as lights and wipers.. Vicor is working with automotive suppliers on using its modular power converter that converts power from the main 400V or 800V high-voltage battery down to 12 volt or 48-volt levels with a fast response time.
“A separate battery is no longer needed,” explained Patrick Kowalyk, principal field applications engineer for automotive at Vicor.
The replacement strategy allows engineers to replicate essential properties of a physical 12-volt battery while also removing more than 25 pounds of vehicle weight. It creates enough saved space to fit a carry-on suitcase, he said.
The spec sheet for Vicor’s “virtual battery” describes it as a BCM6135 65 A BCM Bus Converter. that is chassis mounted in a vehicle. A BCM ( Body Control Module) controls and monitors various electronics such as exterior and interior lighting, wipers, air conditioning, heat and access control. BCMs can range in price from $80 to $,1700.
The Vicor module is priced on Mouser Electronics’ website at $428.82 available in April.
RELATED: Chip CEOs make another plea to Congress to fund CHIPS Act