Powering AI processors – 48V vertical power delivery changes the game
AI models demand huge current, driving legacy multiphase designs past 50 phases—causing space, thermal, and control limits Vicor addresses
Case study: Powering 400V accessory loads
Supporting legacy accessories in new 800V architectures
Customer’s challenge
As the 800V traction battery becomes more common among EVs, loads that were powered directly from a 400V battery are now incompatible. The investment in cost and time frames to engineer 800V versions is prohibitive. Yet converting voltage for these high power loads – compressors, pumps for cooling and HVAC, etc. – needs to be as efficient and lightweight as possible to continue to maximize the driving range of EVs. The key challenges were:
- Avoiding the cost penalty of adding a discrete based 800 to 400V converter
- Do not add substantial weight to the vehicle
- Find a relatively inexpensive, quick to market solution to power 400V loads
The Vicor solution
High density power conversion using a single Vicor power module provides the solution with the smallest volume, lightest weight, and highest efficiency. Power modules are already tested, often only require passive cooling, and are easy to package virtually anywhere in the power system compartment. With this modular approach, it’s easy to adapt the solution to meet specifications for use in different vehicle platform.
Key benefits
Key benefits
A single power module provides up to 37kW
A very compact, lightweight solution
High power output can support up to 17kW with passive cooling
Power delivery network
A single, compact NBM9280 the size of a KitKat® candy bar can power a 37kW, 400V rail to power accessories from the 800V battery. With a peak efficiency of 99.0%, the NBM is a highdensity power converter that weighs only 200g. It can be packaged for flexible placement within tight spaces in the vehicle engine compartment where a bulky, heavy discrete power supply simply would not fit.
UPCOMING
NBM9280 series
Non-isolated fixed ratio
Input: 800V (200 – 460V boost) or 800V (400 – 920V buck)
Output: 400V (400 – 920V boost) or 400V (200 – 460V buck)
Current Up to 75A
Power: 37kW
Peak efficiency: 99.0%
92 x 80 x 7.4mm
Resources
Resources for the design engineer
Innovative 48V AI power architecture delivers both high current density and high current gain
Vicor 48V Factorized Power Architecture slashes thermal losses and delivers high current density to meet the extreme power demands of AI processors
48V Factorized Power Architecture™ slashes thermal losses and outperforms multiphase approach when powering AI
AI hardware faces severe power and cooling limits. Engineers debate 48V vs. 6V intermediate buses alongside new vertical power delivery (VPD) structures
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