Driving the Future of Electric Transportation Forward

If you've seen an electric vehicle or hybrid on the road, or you're the one driving the electric vehicle, you're witnessing a transformation of transportation from fossil fuels to electricity. What you may not see is the revolution underway in how vehicles manage battery charging and manage electricity use, the ways they connect and use AI and machine learning to get smarter and make driving safer, and the innovations that will redefine how we access and maintain them reliably and securely.

So, let's “lift the hood” on some of the key innovations that are helping build this future, and in ways, already making it a reality.

The Present Is Starting to Look Like the Future

If the world's transition to using electrified transportation was a question, it was answered with an exclamation point last year.

Global sales of electric vehicles (“EVs”) reached 6.75 million units in 2021, 108% more than in 2020 and included passenger vehicles, light trucks and light commercial vehicles. Every leading automaker either sells or plans to introduce EVs models. Some will soon only sell EVs in select markets, and General Motors, Volvo, Jaguar and Mercedes announced plans for all or only-EV lineups as soon as two years from now (and no later than 2035). It's hard to keep up with the announcements of new vehicles and plans with manufacturers such as Ford, Sony and Honda regularly making news.

While this transformation might start with the idea of battery-powered vehicles, making it a reality involves going far beyond replacing fuel tanks with batteries. It means giving vehicles the battery power to get people where they need go, the charging capacity to go further and putting into place a charger infrastructure that mirrors the availability of gas stations. It also requires that all the EVs hitting roads have reliable network connectivity that allows for easy access, maintenance, as well as data and privacy protection. Achieving all of this also needs to be safe and secure as well as upgradeable to incorporate the latest innovations in AI and machine learning that enable driver assist and autonomous driving capabilities.

NXP is working at every step of that transformation and building present-day electric transportation that is starting to look like the future.

Batteries Are Just the Beginning

While batteries aren't the end of the e-revolution story, they certainly are the beginning. As a fuel source they directly impact the driving range, functionality, and therefore, consumer adoption and satisfaction. They also have very little in common with the batteries we use in our everyday lives, swapping in and out of TV remotes or other devices when they run out.

EV batteries are complex, intelligent machines and semiconductors play a significant role in their operation. The better they are managed, the farther EVs will go on a single charge. For instance, battery management systems (BMS) include integrated circuits (ICs) and sensors that control critical characteristics like voltage, temperatures and current, which not only maximizes a battery's electrical output but balances its functions and helps ensure that it operates safely. Two out of the top three EV makers use NXP BMS in 2021 (Volkswagen selected NXP as their strategic partner for BMS over two years ago), and our solution has been designed into 16 of the top 20 OEM battery systems.

Go Further by Using Less

Once batteries are operating at peak efficiency, the next phase of the story involves converting that power into torque that turns the wheels and runs all the onboard technologies (from entertainment systems to opening and closing windows). Vehicles are actually complex technology systems that use electricity to run hundreds of sensors and functions, and EVs rely on technology even more. This means that distributing and using electricity is as important as producing it when it comes to enhancing driving experiences.

NXP provides carmakers with a framework for building the next generation of electric and hybrid vehicles called a “power control reference platform” that combines our power inverter (it's what translates high-voltage battery power into the current necessary to drive a traction motor), our world-class microcontrollers, power management system chips and gate driver chips to connect with other components of a vehicular system that have been designed into nine of the top 20 EV- OEM inverter projects.

Convenient, Secure and Fast Recharging

When team members are assured of their value and feel included, accepted and respected, we increase engagement, innovation and profitability. Everybody wins.

Like any machine that consumes energy, EVs need to be refuelled and this means giving drivers convenient, fast and easy access to recharging stations, whether public or private. Not surprisingly, accomplishing this isn't as simple as providing more “outlets” or merely plugging in—charging must provide safe as well as secure reliability in power measurement and financial transactions.

Grid operators need real-time and reliable data on energy consumption data to efficiently and effectively manage the power load; then, energy suppliers need customer IDs, accurate records of energy consumption, and up-to-the-moment tariff and billing info to create and deliver orders used for settlement of payment; charger operators require records and analyses of performance data to manage and maintain their infrastructure; and finally, EV charging station manufacturers need to monitor equipment health status and manage hardware and software repairs and updates.

Such connectivity also enables a variety of innovations, like electricity prices adjusted by demand, incentivizing charging at off-hours and EV owners selling excess power stores in their batteries back to the grid when it's needed most, as well as making EV ownership easier and more satisfying.

Secure Connectivity

Speaking of security, an EV is a collection of Internet of Things (IoT) devices on wheels, which means they connect with other vehicles, the surrounding infrastructure and to data in the cloud so they can do things like acquire real-time driving information and entertainment content and access and accomplish AI and machine learning to improve their functionality (a stationary charging station is similarly connected). This creates potential “doorways” for hackers, making EV security as important as driving and charging performance.

Just this past January at the Consumer Electronics Show, NXP, along with our partners, demonstrated a solution that enabled remote access to battery and energy management, which carmakers can use to improve performance and support intelligent vehicles.

The Road to 2030 Will Be Life-Changing

It's highly likely that you'll see more EVs or own one over the next few years, with one research  firm estimating a ten-fold increase over the course of this decade (from 10 million EVs to 100 million in 2030, though many see the number growing even larger). Not only will each of those vehicles emit less carbon over their productive lifetimes but the commensurate increase in demand for renewable power sources will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This transformation will impact not only how we drive but make the world around us more sustainable. NXP is helping build that future.

For more in-depth information about how NXP's infrastructure is driving the transportation forward, visit our smart city infrastructure page.