Last week, we introduced you to the latest processing technologies for plastics and metals, and today we report on the latest trends in automotive electrical technology.

In Japan, electric vehicle manufacturers, electric vehicle component manufacturers, and academic organizations are pioneering lectures on systems, components, and devices for in-vehicle power electronics. The strength of Japanese vehicle manufacturers is largely due to the technical collection and skill development of these electric vehicle engineers.

The latest technologies include the following. For example, Mazda is developing a plug-in hybrid system for FR Large vehicles, Mitsubishi Motors is evolving the Outlander PHEV, Honda is approaching power electronics development from the perspective of the entire electric vehicle system, and Marelli is developing a battery management system for HEVs and PHEVs. Although they are suppliers rather than automakers, Toyota Central R&D Labs is developing lattice trench IGBT technology for ultra-low-loss diode-integrated IGBTs for electric vehicles, Mitsubishi Electric is developing chip and peripheral technology for SiC power modules for automobiles, and Toshiba Device & Storage Products is developing SiC power modules with built-in SBDs for automotive use. Toshiba Devices & Storage Products Corporation is working on low-loss and high-reliability SiC MOSFETs for automotive applications with built-in SBDs. From Thailand, Bangkok University is conducting a study on optimal routes for EV trucks as part of the Investigation of Optimal Delivery Routes for Electric Trucks.