Renault Group and Vitesco Technologies have signed an agreement to develop power electronics for electrified vehicles, seeking to reduce the size and weight of the control units.
The first vehicles – full-electric and plug-in hybrid -- to use the units will appear after 2026, the two companies said in announcing the partnership. The development center will be based in Toulouse, France. No financial terms were announced.
The aim is to develop a single component that combines the DC-to-DC converter, the onboard charger and the inverter. Renault says this will be 45 percent smaller than mounting the components separately, and will also save an undetermined amount of weight.
"We will design and develop a state-of-the-art 'One Box,' unique on the market, which will be a real competitive advantage," Renault head of technology Gilles Le Borgne said in a news release.
Under the partnership agreement, Vitesco will also supply power electronics for Renault’s hybrid vehicles and a combination DC-to-DC coverter and charger for full-electric vehicles starting in 2025.
Vitesco was spun off from Continental in 2021 and focuses on components for electrified powertrains.
Renault last year reached an agreement with STMicroelectronics to supply chips for power electronics for hybrid and electric vehicles.
