Shift Magazine - March 2021 - S9

CLOSE-UP - YANSONG CHEN

Ricardo North America:
People, Technology
& Culture

GET ELECTRIFIED:

Accelerating development &
adoption of fully electrified vehicles

lectrification, connectivity and autonomous
driving will continue to be the top-three
megatrends across the transportation
industry for years to come.
Ten years ago, perceptions of electric vehicles
were dubious, with minimal policy focus on
clean emissions and equally low consumer
willingness to pay. Today, clean is now cool,
Tesla has surpassed Facebook as the most
valuable company in the US, connected and
updateable experiences are a requirement as
standard equipment (not a luxury option) and
software is eating the world.
The shift in aforementioned global and more
recent local regulatory and fiscal measures are
becoming a significant driver in electric vehicle
deployment - from mild hybrid's to range
extended and fully battery electric vehicles.
The systems that constitute the varying
levels of electrified vehicles are complex, with
readiness and adoption levels differing across
regions and automakers.
To propel the market forward, Ricardo is
leveraging it's bread and butter advanced
technology hardware design and system
integration capability in power electronics,
e-machines and high-speed transmissions;
coupled with FuSa laden, production level
software to deliver a fully integrated and
compact Electric Drive Unit (EDU) technical
solution. With a focus on delivering highly
efficient, production oriented solutions, Ricardo
has improved the power and materials used
to deliver an 800V, silicon carbide , 250 kW
continuous power inverter optimized for power

" We are product agnostic.
We fit solutions to the
business, not the other
way around. "
- Marques McCammon

President, Ricardo North America
density and reduced switching losses, reaching
98.5% efficiency.
Higher switching frequencies and current
throughput present new thermal challenges
that require additional advancements in heat
removal from the sensitive components to
maintain ideal conditions for efficient operation
and greater longevity. Ricardo leverages a
wide range of thermal management techniques
and cooling methods not just for individual
power electronics components, but the entire
electrified propulsion system where the
sensitivity to heat generated is much higher than
a traditional internal combustion system.
Since EDUs are simply one integrated system,
within the entire electrified vehicle system of
systems, Ricardo is taking a holistic approach
to the development and integration of the
electrified propulsion system. Environmental
benefits aside, and with the mass production
and adoption of fully electrified vehicles in sight,
there still much work is to be done to make this
vision a production scale, consumer adopted
reality.

ansong Chen recently joined the Ricardo
North America Senior Leadership Team
as Vice President of Engineering and
Organizational Transformation.
She has been at the forefront of technology
trends and industry transformation since career
beginnings in infotainment and mobile multimedia, through the genesis of in-vehicle software
growth, her leadership role in power electronics
at a global Tier 1 supplier and today at Ricardo.
Chen's education includes an undergraduate
degree in Electrical
and Computer
Engineering from
Kettering University, a
Master's of Business
Administration from
Indiana University,
as well as a
Master's in Electrical
Engineering and
Ph.D. in Engineering
Technology and
Vehicle Electrification from Purdue. Coupling
her advanced education with two decades
of cross-functional automotive experience in
vehicle systems and software, Chen says she is
driven to succeed, purposeful in her approach
to continuous education and research, and
creative in her delivery of engineering solutions.
Currently, Chen's software, electronics
and full vehicle system architecture knowhow is being utilized to expand Ricardo's
North America-based support for customers
in their evolution towards electrified and
advanced propulsion. She is building an inhouse team across the entire vehicle system,
including traditional through advanced
propulsion, embedded software and intelligent
connectivity, and digital tool chains for
continuous improvement.
" The best part of joining Ricardo has been
the connection and alignment with my team, "
says Chen. " We have the right blend of
technology expertise and creativity, with the
drive to deliver innovative solutions that best
meet our customer needs. "
Chen says her objective is to infuse Ricardo's
century-long legacy of powertrain design and
development with the entrepreneurial mindset
to create tomorrow's solutions.
" Ricardo is squarely at the forefront of
mobility's future, " she says. " We have the
unique ability to keep the complexities of
manufacturing and production in mind when
designing new products - from safety, quality
and power to timing and cost constraints of
our customers. This allows us to fully support
the evolution from ICE to the next generation
of connected, electrified and autonomous
driving vehicles. "

http://Ricardo-NorthAmerica.com

Shift Magazine - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Shift Magazine - March 2021