November 5, 2013 – Less expensive, lighter and more efficient inverters could put hybrid electric vehicles on the highway to improved viability. While batteries receive a lot of attention, Oak Ridge National Laboratory inventor Gui-Jia Su noted that inverters, which convert direct current into alternating current, play an equally important role in powering hybrid electric vehicles. The patent-pending ORNL inverter is more compact, reduces battery losses, improves operating conditions and reliability, and can be operated in high-temperature conditions. The inverter also significantly reduces undesirable motor torque ripples, which increase or decrease output torque as the output shaft rotates. In addition to uses in hybrid electric vehicles, Su envisions the inverter being used in industrial motor drives.
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