ZF Wants to Reduce Costs for 800-Volt EV Architectures

• ZF inaugurates HV Test & Validation Laboratory in Solihull, England, for testing 800-volt components and vehicles as part of its R&D hub.

• 800-volt architectures in EVs permit faster charging, greater energy efficiency, and lower component weights due to the use of thinner-gauge wiring compared to 400-volt architectures.

• The charging industry also wants to connect with more 800-volt EVs, most of which are still on the pricey side at the moment, amid its own grid and infrastructure challenges.

Electric-vehicle owners know that 800-volt architectures in EVs promise faster recharge times, among other benefits, but there aren't even that many EVs with 800-volt systems that can take advantage of some of the most powerful chargers.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 are among the more affordable, but 800-volt architectures largely remain confined to pricier offerings including the Lucid Air, Porsche Taycan, and the GMC Hummer EV, to name a few.

At the moment, most EVs still rely on 400-volt architectures that are less efficient, losing more energy through heat, and they use heavier wiring due to the higher currents. If there is a distinct advantage to 400-volt systems, it's that their manufacturing costs are lower.

ZF hopes to change this in the longer term and has recently opened a first-of-its-kind HV Test & Validation Laboratory in Solihull, England.

The supplier giant wants to speed up the adoption of 800-volt architectures in EVs, which will allow them to take advantage of a number of efficiencies including weight savings due to lower gauge, lighter wiring requirements.

ZF's 800V Test & Validation Laboratory was designed just for this purpose from the very start and features a number of safety systems, including active discharge resistance that can quickly remove hazardous energy.

With an interlocked and isolated safety door, the lab features a power supply able to handle 1,500V DC at 45 kW, but it can be dialed up to 90 kW.

"OEMs want the compelling benefits of 800V but finding facilities capable of validating these higher-rated systems has not been easy," said Adrian Mitcham, Head of Special Applications at ZF.

One of the first products to have been tested at the site is a hydrogen recirculation blower that was shown at the IAA Transportation in Germany in September. The lab has also validated a new fuel-cell air compressor for trucks and buses, with testing overseen by ZF's Commercial Vehicle Solutions division.

ZF plans to open up the lab for use by third parties as well, including for academic projects. The company notes that its R&D hub in Solihull already works with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) on high-voltage training.

"Just like our world-class EMC and climatic chambers on the same site, we plan to offer 800V validation services to external organizations so that more of the benefits can be realized in the wider mobility sector," Mitcham added.

The EV charger industry is certainly aware of the benefits of 800-volt architectures, even though the same cost barriers still apply to faster DC chargers, as do grid infrastructure limitations. But that's slowly changing as well, and station operators have an incentive to cycle more cars through a station in a given 24-hour cycle.

Still, the shift to 800-volt architectures in EVs appears assured in the longer term, especially after a number of Chinese auto giants have begun to make the transition in the world's largest EV market.

Are the time requirements of EV recharging still a barrier to greater EV adoption in the US, or are other factors like EV price and the availability of public charging more to blame? Let us know what you think in the comments below.