Several times I've ordered both a chicken and an egg, at a restaurant to see which would come first. Now I know. Each time, they brought them, they brought both of them together. Apparently they come as a set. Now we need a 48 volt chicken.
In the late 1800s The Bell Telephone systems chose 48 volts as the logical voltage to use for all systems because it is efficient in many ways and not dangerous like higher voltage. After that all phone systems around the world use 48 volts including China. It's good to have the auto industry catch up join the 19th century
@@hwirtwirt450048v is not hype, it actually makes sense, but it is not necessary. People whipping legacy automakers for still using 12v systems because the Cybertruck uses 48v are supporting Musk’s hypocrisy; all Teslas other cars still use 12v systems! Tesla launches a single new low-volume vehicle with a 48v system and now everyone else is stupid and old-fashioned? Musk has the gall to publish a 48v instruction manual as a “charitable” donation to the industry? What a joke.
@@hwirtwirt4500 I'm an electrical/ electronics engineer Yes it's good for vehicles .. even ice car designers have wanted to change to 48v for decades.. the company been counters wouldn't let them. .. I had the same problem with been counters in telecom, for fiber optics back then that I designed ...low and behold now 3 decades later everything is fiber optic transmission..😊
The short answer is that 12v has been 'good enough' since 1955. The long answer is that consumers don't really care as long the windows and power locks work, and the engineering cost is crazy high. The cost benefit is worth it over the long term due to cheaper/lighter wiring, but the return would take so long that no executive would want to be responsible for the massive upfront hit to the finances. Investors would throw a fit, since they'd see every other car still happily using 12v, or just buy from the newly minted 48v suppliers without having to put in any of the cost and effort themselves. Brand new cars are coming out with 12v architectures, and probably still will for a least another model cycle if not two.
@@jceess The 48 volt battery is a backup for the Cybertruck drive by wire steering system. One owner reported a failure of the steering but was able to stop safely. Apparently the 48 volt battery backup failed.
Car makers don't make the lights and electronics modules,,, the manufacturers, of the 12v systems want to sell to all manufactureres so it's like a standoff doing it
I think John quite couldn't appreciate the size of that device...i mean 800V to 48V with 2kW power, that's just insane, Generally we would see a big real brick size converter for those kind of conversion.
@@caseymuni4097 It does have to attach to a heat sink, yes. But we aren't talking 95% efficiency here. We are talking 98% or 99% efficiency. Well, I don't know about that particular company's device, but 98% is easy to achieve for a buck converter.
@@hwirtwirt4500it depends. If you will use total 12v devices, but with 48/12 adapters. You will lose a lot in everything. But, if you change most energy consuming devs to 48v, then it totally worth it.
I am doing a presentation on high power aftermarket loads for WCX expo next month. It's fascinating how much power these systems can draw and how big the cable needs to be to support this. I had one company tell me that the 48V smaller cable would not be as attractive to their customers since it would appear "cheaper and weaker" lmao
My '62 VW Beetle had a 6 volt battery. My brother's then new '67 VW was the first year to use a 12 volt battery. So now we have to change again after just 57 years? Really took that long?
The real improvement was the VW/Bosch 12V alternator that replaced the 6V generator and relay regulator, which could be installed with reversed polarity (!!!) if you weren't careful. As I recall, those generators had replaceable carbon-graphite brushes, too.
I also remember how the Beetle back-seat floorboard underneath those refillable 6V/12V batteries could rust out from spilled acid, creating some interesting motoring catastrophes. The development of "sealed" lead-acid batteries that don't need to be topped off with distilled water was a big improvement.
@@hwirtwirt4500 Why are you against a voltage so bad? Where did elon touch you? it is a voltage grow up dude you are being pathetic. I have read like 10 of your comments and actual electrical engineers are explaining why and how it works. DeWalt has a 60 volt flexvolt system which are much more powerful then their 20 volt tools, are you going to get pissy at Dewalt?
This just proves that OEM's had no interest in innovation if initially it drops their gross margins! It took a startup company to push them to innovate and it is still going to cost them money, but now if they don't do it they will be considered behind in technology! What's next steer by wire??????
The modern ceo culture is to only care about short term profits. Everything is ran as a pump and dump. Boeing is a great example. OEMs can't lower short term profits to increase long term profits because the execs won't get stock bonuses doing that. We never should have let board members or execs own stock for any public company. People who get paid tons of free stock did not invest anything. They will do whatever maximizes their own compensation in the short term and bail if it stops working. Consumers cannot afford to keep funding these welfare queens in the prices of the products we buy.
Tesla launches a single new low-volume vehicle with 48v systems and now every other car is obsolete? What about EVERY OTHER CAR TESLA MAKES? Jeez… why does everyone put Musk on a pedestal instead of actually thinking about what’s going on? 🐑
@@superspeederwell, everyone tries it in small series first. Of cause the rest of Tesla will go for 48V. Strange that your feedback isn’t “Nice, finally someone started the move.” But “Why aren’t they done yet, hypocrite!?!” Check your objectivity/bias.
Buck converters or dc-dc converters are part of most electronic apparatus. Any car computer, radio or display can be modified to run on any voltage with small expense. The problem with motors, actuators etc.
Musk did say at the CyberTruck announcement that they have not replace all 12 volt devices with 48 volt devices because the 48 volt version are not yet available at a reasonable volume and cost.
@@superspeederthe windshield wiper, the tunneau cover motor steering gear motors are 48V. The most demanding equipment are already at that voltage. The rest is simply being produced and will be ready for higher volume production
@@carloscubas2824 the point is, Tesla rolls out a new low-volume car that runs a partial 48v system, now every other car and company are obsolete according to the rhetoric. Right. Never mind all the other cars Tesla builds which run 12v systems. And 16v systems lol.
@@superspeeder Most of the parts in the Cybertruck are 48V, a few things some some of the small motors work at 12V. But it isn't just a couple things. And it's where they're going moving FORWARD with all parts being 48V and in-house controllers. It would make no sense for them to completely gut and re-engineer the Model 3 and Model Y and their current supply chains.
@@robertide5182 I see exactly what you’re saying, and agree with it also. I just find it very rich for Musk to publish a charitable instruction manual for the industry to go 48v when he hasn’t even done it yet. It’s cheap PR stunt points with ignorant consumers and media as far as I’m concerned.
I come from years of tinkering on 48V ebikes, dont know much about cars. So I remember all the fuss early on about running 12V lights on 48V system.. Then they came up with lights that run on a wide variety of voltages and they are cheaper to buy...
Interesting interim solution until the suppliers catch on and create the native 48volt components. They will be lighter and more powerful in smaller packages. The other technology Tesla is using is ethernet instead of CAN bus. Both technologies mate to provide superior operation. In the 12 volt world, the controls are at the source of power, not decentralized as Tesla has done.
When I was flying my Cessna 172, there was much discussion about changing Genersl Aviation electrical systems to 24 volt. I did not “get it”. I certainly do now, even though I no longer aviate.
As a car guy and golf cart/ forklift mechanic I don’t understand the logic behind the statement that smaller wires are better. If that were the case then we wouldn’t be using 1 gauge wires for any car batteries or forklifts.
Smaller wires are cheaper, lighter, easier to route, and have far less losses compared to bigger wires. 48V allows for smaller wires to take advantage of all of that. The current is too high on 12V.
As numerous people have pointed out, a buck converter to go from 12 volts to 48 volts is simple tech that has been around for 60 years. The only meaningful tech this company MIGHT have is some custom silicon to make the module smaller than is typical. But any average electrical engineer could design a buck coverter in a week (or less) start to finish.
Interesting. Are these actual production samples he had? Can't seem to find much info or tests of 'sine amplitude convertors' apart from a white paper and that its apparently patented.
Search for (bidirectional) dc-to-dc converters. They efficiently convert dc power into "ac" power and then back into (a different voltage of) dc power. They evolved from similar technologies that convert our ac mains power into the dc power that runs or charges most of our modern electronic devices.
Its not even that complex. There is nothing special here. Just high quality synchronous DC-DC buck converters for the most part. They don't have to be bidirectional (a tail-light doesn't need to send power back the other direction...). They don't have to use sine converters or flyback transformers. 98% efficiency just with a high quality synchronous switching FET section and a high quality inductor. But yes, it is possible to get fancier. All DC-DC converters are basically switching power supplies so there are tricks that can be done to get the efficiency even higher... 99% is possible. Even a little higher. Particularly when the current draw is constant for the device (such as a LED light)... then you don't even need strong voltage regulation. You can use a current regulator instead and let the voltage be a bit squirrelly. But usually one only cares about that for high-power low-voltage devices. If all the high-power devices are native 48V the only things left running at 12V are low power and you just use cheaper 98% or even 95% efficient buck converters.
No, no, you are wrong. Mary Barra is leading the electric car revolution. And it matters. Thank you GM for being the biggest force for EVs in the world : )
That's the good thing about Tesla's existence, getting some motion from the 100 year old industry. It also doesn't have 100 years of supply chain baggage to deal with.
No, this isn't the case. Down-converting from a higher DC voltage to a lower one is trivial up to around 2000VDC on the input side. It is basically just a BJFET stage to handle the high input voltage. Totally trivial, and the amperages at 48V are 1/4th what they are at 12V which means that the circuit losses are 1/16th what they would be at 12V. Totally utterly trivial. Just to give you an idea of how easy this is, 10A @ 48V is 480W. The same thing at 12V would require 40A to get the same 480W watts. think about it. -Matt
@@junkerzn7312 You're missing the point, Tesla is using a DC to DC converter to step the 800 VDC to 48 volts and a 48 volt battery as a backup for the steer by wire.
Everything on a car can easily be tweaked to run on 48V. Different voltage zones is silly. It wouldn't change the size of the battery either. 48V isn't a big deal. This guy is just trying to sell 48V to sell his converters.
bingo same as the decades of marketing large HP and Torque figures to sell Gas cars to consumers (which is ultimately of little meaning outside of racetrack settings like Lime Rock, Daytona, The Brick Yard, Laguna Seca, etc) this is just more use of what i call "BIG NUMBER PSYCHOLOGY". observe how no other EE's - worth their salt - are being solicited for their opinion, but yet all of this is Electrical Engineering 101.
No. "The best part is no part." Step-down converters like this add cost, components and electrical connections and are used in hybrid solutions when 48Vdc adoption is only partial. If you design a new vehicle to be 48Vdc from the ground up, they are rarely necessary and generally avoided. Design engineers at Tesla and the EV startups have an advantage, they don't have the pressures to use existing OEM "parts bin" components, increasing volume and lowering cost and risk like their top-level managers learned back in Finance 101.
John, several years ago you had a guy on who had a new wiring harness loop that had some sort of security function. Do you by chance remember the name of that company. It was a hour long show, if you remember let me know.
These small power reducers are good...possibly unique from 800 to 48 volts. But 48 to 12 volt converters should be easy. I build RC drones and commonly use tiny devices called "Battery Elimination Circuits" so I can use the 24 volt motors battery to drive other items at lower voltages...e.g. 5, 6, 7.2, 9, 12 volts. Otherwise I'd need several different batteries to run the motors, flight controller, receiver, video transmitter, camera, gimbal, lights, etc.
Depends on what the OEM values. Completely integrated power electronics design and very high power-density cannot be achieved with traditional discrete solutions. For a 100W converter, it's not worth it. But for a 4kW+ converter, it really makes sense.
@@BarefootDave_ I'm just thinking that as the industry transforms to an overall 48 volt system it should not be hard to keep using many low power 12 volt devices by stepping down voltage as needed...until 48 volt versions are available.
Hahaha. Oh yah.... *now* other auto companies are figuring out that 48V is actually good. Sheesh, we've had 48V in the battery world for ages. Its not as though Tesla invented 48V. It's been around for a long time and smart people have been using it. Just not in autos. In anycase, this guy is talking it up but 48V is actually really easy to deal with. DC-DC Buck converters are cheap, easy, and can hit 98% efficiency (without this particular company's "proprietary" technology). It just isn't hard, nor is it rocket science. You convert to 48V by starting with your main system voltage (the battery and its charger), as well as your largest loads (only a few of those)... and then just run through a 48V to 12V DC-DC to run all the legacy 12V gear that still remains. This allows the equipment in the vehicle to transition to native 48V over-time, no need to do it all at once. Don't be fooled, no special technology is required to make this transition.
@@hwirtwirt4500 What's good about it? Are you saying that from the viewpoint of not knowing anything about electricity? Not sure what you mean by "no aftermarket equipment runs on 48V". Where'd you get that idea from? But if you read the comment you would understand that it doesn't matter because for a vehicle only big-ticket items really need 48V operation. Low-power legacy equipment, which is most of the equipment in a vehicle, can run off of cheap $1 buck converters until the vehicle makers are able to source them at a higher native voltage. -Matt
The Germans did research that demonstrated that 30V was the minimum voltage that could kill someone (this included elderly) , the welding industry has settled on 45 V (I have seen horrific injuries but no deaths from 45V) , ships are often wired for 32V for safety reasons. I feel 48V is too high it's no longer safe to handle hot .
@@BarefootDave_ I just looked up SELV threshold , it just says a "low risk" that doesn't mean anything a 1% fatality rate from contact could be considered a low risk if the auto industry is paying you to draw that conclusion. I think Covid taught us that very clearly.
Going to say though all those local DC to DC converters are more points of failure and to be frank modern cars already have too many points of failure that don't need to be there.
So will they stop at the bridge tech? Where is the push to convert the remaining 12V systems? Will legacy coopeate with Tesla to encourage for these conversions?
There is no need to convert absolutely everything to 48V native. Down-converting from 48V to 12V is utterly trivial and the circuit is the size of your thumb... so basically legacy modules can just add a cheap buck converter until they are able to run natively. The wiring would be 48V. The legacy modules would accept it and down-convert as needed. What this company is showing is more of a stop-gap for high-power legacy gear that vehicle makers might try to leave in the vehicles... which is kinda stupid actually (in my view). When converting a vehicle to 48V you always convert the high-power gear along with it. You leave the low-power gear at 12V temporarily because that's like 90% of the electronics in terms of parts count in the vehicle and just add a small buck converter at the end of the wiring run (not a big buck converter at the start of the wiring run). Then replace those modules piecemeal as vendors get up to speed. So... really this isn't hard. Car companies just aren't used to innovating. they've over-optimized their processes so much they can't change gears any more even for simple things.
It's embarrassing and pathetic that the auto industry didn't transition to 48V decades ago. It's a great example of their lack of innovation, even when the innovation is obvious and inevitable.
14:00 Interesting. Not long ago, I heard somewhere that you can't step down from HV battery and use it as LV battery because you need to disconnect the HV when it is not in use. But then, why not integrate the LV DC converter inside the HV battery so that low voltage is always available even when HV contactors are disconnected. 🤔 Maybe it is not advisable because once this LV DC converter malfunctions, it will be harder to service vs an external 48V battery.
@@hwirtwirt4500 do you think 48 volts would be useless in RVs or stuff like winches and snow plows? running a fridge, water pump for shower and sink, tv/audio, A/C, etc. That would be cool if we could upgrade the wimpy 100 watt cigarette outlet and replace it with something much higher wattage, being able to rapid charge drill batteries without a 120 volt inverter is something i would be interested in. That 12 volt outlet never seems to get a solid connection overtime anyway, you aways have to twist it or push it just the right way to get power out of it many times
@@JD-yx7be "do you think 48 volts would be useless in RVs or stuff like winches and snow plows? running a fridge, water pump for shower and sink, tv/audio, A/C, etc." Unnecessary, all those items have been in use of vehicles for decades long before the 48 volt nonsense became a talking point by Musk worshipers.
Vicor has been around the military / aerospace world for decades. When he says expensive, those modules are hundreds of dollars (built to mil spec). Can they make a cheap auto grade, dunno. These are boost and / or buck devices made by dozens of companies. Not that special.
impressive tiny converter at 2KW, maybe it is using silicon carbide. but then, that would be so expensive versus the average DC converter. DC converters are everywhere, anything that is electronics. DC converters very cheap and only goes expensive at higher power/outputs. Essentially, you can have all 12V accessories connected to a DC converter circuit connected to a 48V system for negligible cost. Altnernatively, an automaker can design make their own converters than buying from this company. What this company should do is design an ecosystem to smoothly transition homes from AC house wiring to DC. Instead of solar PV homes having inverters, this company sell powerful DC converters that output 220-240V DC to house wiring. Current appliances would have to connect to inverters for the meantime until more appliances are sold as fully DC powered.
Depends on what the OEM values. Completely integrated power electronics design and very high power-density cannot be achieved with traditional discrete solutions. For a 100W converter, it's not worth it. But for a 4kW+ converter, it really makes sense.
exactly 48V in the context they're talking about is a DEAD END, a NON-STARTER (which they're not telling you). unlike old school 22AWG phone wiring run static in the walls of a home built back in say the 1950's...? cars and trucks drive down roads subject to bumps, vibrations, and large temperature swings which is why most harnesses rarely go smaller than 18AWG. Auto Industry professionals in the Diesel sector "have seen this movie". #DURABILITYMATTERS
@@ayoutubechannelname Printed circuit board tracks are immune, since no wiring. Interestingly, that's exactly the direction Tesla want's to take, with wiring printed right into the car parts.
He mentioned high cost. We've been using stepdown DC voltages for ages. How can an old and simple electronic DC voltage controller surrounded by few other minimal component can be costly...it is a joke!
What's so hard about making the LED drivers run 48 volts DC and anything else . This was a infomercial to rally the stock price. A lot of hype on this channel.
Automotive electronics must operate between -40-120 degrees Farenheit, withstanding high G-forces and shocks, humidity and condensation. You can't have electrical circuits all blowing during an accident. Also, these high efficiency dc-to-dc converters evolved from switching power supply technologies and bear little resemblance to "old and simple DC voltage controllers" with their relatively bulky inductors, transformers and capacitors.
Depends on what the OEM values. Completely integrated power electronics design and very high power-density cannot be achieved with traditional discrete solutions. For a 100W converter, it's not worth it. But for a 4kW+ converter, it really makes sense.
No it’s not. All the sub systems are 48 volt in the Cybertruck. These devices are just a bandaid. All the automakers and suppliers should just make 48 volt components.
They will as the volume very slowly is needed. We aren't going to turn over 200 million vehicles overnight, and we'll still need 12v parts for 20 years.
Depends on what the OEM values. Completely integrated power electronics design and very high power-density cannot be achieved with traditional discrete solutions. For a 100W converter, it's not worth it. But for a 4kW+ converter, it really makes sense.
For the average car owner, what does 48V mean? Now you can't buy a radar detector, a dash cam, or other accessory for your car? Cost benefits for OEM's not really anything for the end buyer/user.
No, you could still use all those things because they are going to offer a step down to 12v for a while at least. Better yet, just use USB to power everything small like that, since you're going to have those plugs available.
Yea, I don't buy it. Higher voltage does not necessarily translate into smaller gauge wires. Today's electronic circuitry such as CPUs and ICs are designed to work with 5 volts or less. The smaller the voltage the smaller the power consumption which is why portable battery operated devices last long.
We're talking about much different applications compared to CPUs and ICs. A 5kW winch operates a lot better on 48V vs 12V. Higher voltage directly correlates with smaller wires... Moore's Law
Seems like any weight and/or cost savings with this system go right back into the modules. All you need is an appetite from an OEM on a high volume vehicle. A 200k/year platform would ignite a whole suite of 48v components. I love how everyone assumes legacy OEMs are stupid. If there was an easy path to 48v that guaranteed significant savings they would have done it already. If I were them I’d go to 60v just to make sure Musk doesn’t get undue credit, which I’m sure he will.
60Vdc is considered dangerous (potentially fatal) with corresponding regulations and restrictions; 48Vdc is widely accepted as a practical upper limit for consumer safety. Design engineers are under intense pressure from C-suite management to minimize risk, development costs and parts cost, which highly motivates them to use or adapt whatever already exists in the company "parts bin" rather than risk their careers. That's why external disruption and competition are so important for large, established industries such as the automakers. Risky but smart design decisions were more common back when senior engineers held more management authority, much to the frustration of the finance and marketing types.
@@dancolestock “Design engineers are under intense pressure from C-suite management to minimize risk, development costs and parts cost…” Exactly. If there was a clear path forward to savings they would have done it by now. This has been studied for decades by very smart people laser-focused on reducing costs. I’ve worked for OEMs who’ve participated in adding significant short term costs to high production vehicles with the intent to develop new materials for anticipated future savings. There certainly is an appetite if there’s a good business case. Either no one has been smart enough yet to make a compelling case, or that case just hasn’t yet been feasible. I’d bet on the latter, especially since suppliers would be trying to beat their competition to market with solutions if they knew it was what’s coming. There’s no magic in 48v component design vs 12v component design. It does become necessary if the systems require more power, like the steer-by-wire in the Cybertruck. Tesla then has a vested interest in developing it. On that note, what took Tesla so long? They’re using resistive heaters at 12v! How come Elon didn’t think 48v would be a benefit there? Steer by wire is likely the driver for the 48v architecture, the first of its kind, and everyone uses this as a reason to whip the legacy OEMs, who by Tesla’s actions, STILL do not need it. This is why I’m torn about Elon. I like his stance politically, but the moves he makes in the automotive world have me shaking my head. Publishing a “48v instruction manual” as a charitable donation to the automotive industry is a laughable ploy for cheap popularity points with ignorant consumers.
breaking news: 48V is a dead end when spoken in the context of wire size. what laymen unfortunately overlook is the fact that what 12V being around for decades means is that it's "age" is now actually it's "strength", and the reason is because in those same decades EE's weren't just sitting around "twiddling their thumbs", no, both the SUPPLY SIDE and the LOAD SIDE of the circuit was "evolved" and has since been optimized for high efficiency, low current draw (ref: Led/Low Voltage Lighting, Brushless Motors, etc) and even if you temporarily leave these developments out of the discussion...? something else that can't be overlooked in manufacturing is obviously LOW COST and durability in terms of Warranty Claims, as there's very few WORSE JOBS in the Auto Industry than having to replace a defective harness... thus the reason you see 48V used extensively by the Germans in their Hybrids (well before Tesla) with the rest of the vehicle wisely staying 12V is very simple, it's because the Germans only have 1 or 3 loads sitting at the ends of circuits that DEMAND use of 48V power. ref: Garrett 48V/400V E-Turbo developed with Mercedes over their 7 Consecutive Driver and Constructor Championships in F1 (2014 - 2020), ref: VW/Audi/Porsche 48V Electric Anti-Roll Bars, ref: BMW 48V Mild Hybrid substituting an Electric Motor in place of the Torque Converter between the engine and transmission in their X5M Competition SUV and cutting a lap time of 2:58.1 around VIR... for the "record" (pun intended) this is technically faster than a Porsche Cayman S, a Honda Civic Type R, and even one of BMW's own M2 Competition (source: Car and Driver's Lightning Lap 2024). need i mention that an X5 is a GINORMOUS lumbering SUV...? yeah so the need to power THESE types of loads is the reason why the 6700 lb Cybertruck has 48V, so contrary to what you've been told, it was the desire to "make a splash" by fitting STEER BY WIRE to the CT that "gave birth" to use of 48V, not the fitting of 48V that then "gave birth" to STEER BY WIRE. no, any Off-Roader will be able to tell you how difficult it is to steer 35 inch tires if/when the power is off on their comparatively lightweight gas Jeep.
One 48v line can supply multiple controllers that have several components, compared to individual 12v lines going to every component. Simplifying the harness.
@@andrewradford3953 That would in fact maker wiring more complicated using more components and assemblies and not provide any advantage. BMW uses the existing alternator to produce both 12 and 48 volt DC sources. 48 to run the motor for the Hybrid drive power boost and 12 for everything else and uses only one 12 battery.
You are really confused if you think 48V is not used heavily in the U.S.. It just isn't used heavily in the auto industry (up until now). But 48V is used all over the place. It is not a dead-end standard by any means. How do you think Tesla was able to switch? It wasn't by accident. And it isn't just the steer-by-wire either. I was using 48VDC 20 years ago and using it even more today, particularly in solar + battery applications but also consumer POE+. POE+ is a 48V (really 50-58V) DC standard for power over ethernet. Heck, even my wifi routers are 48VDC native. Nobody is talking about converting everything in the vehicle to 48V native... there is no need to do that. Buck converters are like $1 modules the size of your thumb in high volumes. It is totally trivial to converter all the vehicle's wiring to 48V, saving quite a lot of money in wiring in exchange for adding maybe $20 worth of buck-converters to retain legacy low-power 12V gear until the industry catches up. The wiring is gobs and gobs simpler at 48V. Car companies are just too stupid to be able to look beyond the end of their nose.
When you do not invest in better technology, when you are worried about today's profits, instead of leading the future, you end up like the Big 3. Who will be left in 2030. We need engineers running industrial corporations, the MBA's just want to outsource what they have, not be world class leaders in the future.
No matter how many times Elon & the Tesla Team prove the so-called Impossible 😳 is possible. And openly shares their findings with others who we all know wouldn’t think of doing the same without being paid a fee up front. But “Elon Bad” ( let’s keep his stock in the Red ) while buying more for theirselves
Sounds like a shim until the suppliers catch up and provide 48V components, which is fine if it solves the chicken and egg problem. The 800V to 400V issue was solved at Tesla by splitting the battery in two, which seems simpler and cheaper. Silicon transformer is neat but I have a hard time imaging this is new technology.
There are a few commentors here that understand the DC voltage architecture. Obviously this guy does not. Computers have power supplies that change power from AC to DC and DC to DC no big deal. The biggest most important output values are the current, voltages and the amount of heat generated. This guy can't even describe what changes going to 48v means. Higher voltage means thinner wire because less current will be needed to send the power, so less copper. That water pipe analogy he made doesn't even make sense. Their "license" is just packaging technology that has been around for decades.
I dont know if theese people have been living under a rock for the last 30 years, but european premium brands have used 48v since 2012, and 48v as the primary system since 2017.
The BMW uses a 12 volt electrical system but switches the alternator to 48 volts to power the mild hybrid version of vehicles but generates the high voltages using the existing alternator. Ford used a similar technology in the early 80's to power the Instaclear windshield which had the alternator produced over 80 volts but only to the windshield it was deicing. Both were and still use 12 volt batteries. Do some research next time instead of making a misleading and incorrect statements.
This show is a parody of how to bury your head in the sand and lie to yourself about designing an efficient car electrical system. Buying heaters from a vendor so you can kick a can down the road instead of doing your actual job. This is shockingly bad content.
They will be sitting in the 98% efficiency range most likely. It isn't new technology, its just that most people don't understand electronics well enough to understand just how easy it is to down-convert a higher DC voltage to a lower DC voltage.... perhaps basing a reasonable first-order guess on poor quality buck converters sold on Amazon. But the reality is that a high quality buck converter can hit 98% without too much trouble and 99% if you go all-out. Usually though there is just no need to go all-out. This particular product seems to be designed for stupid car companies that try to keep their legacy high-power 12V gear intact, which is not the right way to convert a vehicle to 48V. You keep the low-power legacy 12V gear intact and convert all the high-power gear (which are mostly motors anyway... trivial to design for 48V)... you convert the high-power gear to native 48VDC. So simple cheap 95% efficiency buck converters are plenty good enough when its done right. -Matt
Porsche and Bentley have been using 48V since 2018 ... not sure why Tesla is getting mentioned as a thought leader ... all they did was send everyone their whitepaper ... . Facts: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/48-volt_electrical_system#:~:text=As%20of%202018%2C%20a%2048V,Turbo%20Otto%2048V%20Mild%2DHybrid.
For some components not all. From NY Time article "For now, the more powerful systems run alongside the traditional 12-volt electronics rather than replacing them altogether. This dual-voltage strategy avoids the need to redesign simple, reliable components like the motors that open windows and adjust seats."
Late 2025 is well over a year away before we see these in vehicles. I wonder what the negatives are beside the premium price. I’m betting high heat is a negative but it’s never mentioned.
