HyundaiFrom the September/October 2025 issue of Car and Driver.As EV makers transition from 400-volt to 800-plus-volt architectures, the output voltage of any given charging equipment can be the limiting variable in the often confusing fast-charging equation. Higher-voltage architectures have the advantage of lower current requirements to flow the same amount of power, which means they can use thinner and therefore lighter wiring. But EVs built on such architectures still need to have wiring capable of charging when hooked up to lower-voltage charging stations, such as those in Tesla’s sprawling Supercharger network.One way to remedy this is to add to the vehicle relatively heavy and bulky equipment capable of transforming the voltage that comes out of the station plug to the higher value that the pack expects. Lucid took this approach with its Air sedan, and Porsche and Audi do the same in models such as the Taycan and e-tron GT.Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, and now Lucid have a different strategy that introduces a bit of hardware backed by a lot of complex control logic. Though the concept of a boost or step-up converter is familiar, its implementation in many of these brands’ battery-electric models is novel. Credit the reliance on two pieces of equipment that come with every electric vehicle: an AC motor and an inverter. Illustration by Chris Philpot|Car and DriverINTERMEDIARY CHARGE Find a charging station capable of feeding electrons at your EV’s native voltage? Then you can cut out the middleman. Find one that’s lower—say you plug your 800-volt EV into a 400-volt station—and the inverter and electric motor boost the input to 800 volts, as depicted here on a Hyundai Ioniq 5.It’s a simple enough concept on paper. When a so-equipped vehicle connects to a DC fast-charger, the car susses out the station’s available voltage. If the vehicle determines there’s enough voltage to make the most of its high-voltage electrical architecture, then it sends power from the charger straight to the battery pack. But if the electrical architecture’s capabilities far exceed the station’s available voltage, then it gets to work “boosting” the voltage, relying on various contactors and relays to shunt power through the motor and inverter via a different path from when the battery is sending power to the wheels. Think of it as the charging equivalent of your pal in college who would chug a cold one from a glass at the same pace as the rest of the crew but whose real talent lay in emptying a beer bong as fast as gravity allowed.HyundaiWhile all of the Korean companies’ E-GMP-based EVs include this technology, Lucid offers it only in the Gravity SUV. Relative to the Air sedan that does without this tech, the Gravity has additional contactors packaged in a redesigned inverter. Lucid engineers had to alter the stator’s wiring inside the rear motor to create a neutral tap to get the right electrical path to do the voltage boosting. It’s kind of like that college buddy again, capable of temporarily uncoupling from school to enjoy a night of debauchery, only to wake up the next morning ready to reengage with their studies and maintain an honors GPA. Current Electric Information
- How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV?
- What Are the Different EV Charging Levels?
- Your Guide to Charging an EV
Source: caranddriver.com
