ABB launches at InnoTrans in Berlin a next generation battery charger based on silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors for use in all rail applications. The new compact battery charger of the series, BORDLINE BC, complements ABB`s large stand-alone auxiliary converter product family and is compatible with all standard train battery voltages. With a footprint of 360 x 220 mm – the size of a shoebox – it is about 10 times smaller and has a weight reduction of 80 percent compared to previous generations. The new device excels with a high power density of 1 kW per liter and per kg, an improvement from previous generations by a factor of 15.
The BORDLINE BC battery charger employs ABB’s well proven modular platform design while incorporating SiC technology for the first time. SiC power semiconductor technology enables a power density and performance not possible with conventional silicon (Si) power semiconductors due to its conductivity characteristics. SiC technology translates into dramatically reduced size, weight, and cooling requirements, and increased system efficiency, all critical factors for rail operators.
“The new battery charger leverages all the benefits available from SiC and soft switching technologies to allow for a new performance level of power electronics in railway,” said Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division.
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