Abstract: Drive units for electric vehicles are provided. One example provides a drive unit for an electric vehicle that comprises a drive unit housing defining a form factor having a volume of less than 27,000 cm3, an electric motor comprising a rotor, a stator and a rotor shaft and an electric inverter in electrical communication with the electric motor. Both the electric motor and the electric inverter are housed within the drive unit housing and the drive unit provides a continuous power density of greater than 5 kW/kg.

Abstract: A motor drive system for an electrified vehicle includes a DC source, such as a battery, and an inverter, which includes one or more phase drivers, each configured to switch current from the DC source to generate AC power upon one or more output terminals using a hybrid of two or more different solid-state switches, each having a corresponding voltage rating. A nine-switch inverter includes three phase drivers, each including high, low, and middle solid-state switches, with Si-MOSFET high and low switches having a first voltage rating of half of the rated voltage of the system, and with Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors rated to block a full rated voltage of the system used for the middle switches. A delay driver synchronizes timing between two different solid-state switches by energizing control terminals at different rates. The inverter can be operated using near-state pulse-width modulation (NSPWM) to reduce switching losses.