Abstract

The ever-increasing global environmental concerns, the introduction of new energy sources to the power grid, added to the rapid technological development of power electronics, and control of electric drives, have recently provided new opportunities to reduce CO2 and other polluting material emissions, toward a next generation of electrified transport systems. The integration of power electronics has experienced a massive penetration in modern transportation systems such as electric vehicles (EV), ships, and rail applications, thereby playing a major role in the reduction of polluting emissions, either by decreasing the dependency on fossil fuels or by helping to increase the efficiency in hybrid systems. In this context, the electrification of transport systems has resulted in the development of several configurations for hybrid and full-electric power-train arrangements, both introducing the use of high-performance electrical machines and power electronics drives. Due to the critical importance of transportation systems in the society and economy, aspects such as safety, availability, sustainable operation, and efficiency constitute a central part in the design process. Therefore, electronic power con- verters must be analyzed in terms of voltage levels, power density, and system redundancy, among other criteria. Moreover, the infrastructure required to operate the new large-scale electric transportation systems must consider energy storage, charging capabilities, and accomplishment with renewable energies policies. These features introduce several challenges for the next generation of electrification transportation systems, which are examined within this chapter.