Infineon Technologies AG announced that Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corp. have selected Infineon as supplier of power modules for their current hybrid car generations, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Kia Optima. Hyundai and Kia, together the world’s fastest-growing and fifth-largest car manufacturer, teamed up with Infineon on the hybrid powertrain design including the Infineon HybridPACK™1 power module and the related control electronics as part of the electric motor inverter. Hyundai and Kia are ramping up production of their hybrid fleet and plan to increase their presence mainly in the North American and Korean Markets. Infineon has already started to deliver its HybridPACK 1 power module which was specifically designed for use in Hybrid Electrical Vehicle (HEV) applications for a power range of up to 30kW. Typically, there are two power modules in use in full hybrid cars. Compared to a combustion engine vehicle a hybrid car with its regenerative braking and boost functionality saves about 15 to 35 percent of fuel.
Infineon’s HybridPACK 1 power module has a crucial role in controlling and powering the hybrid electrical motor being the energy bridge between the battery system and the HEV drive. The HybridPACK 1 is responsible to translate the dc from the battery into ac, which drives the electric motor, and from ac back to dc to charge the battery system using braking energy.
