Liu Baohua, a reporter of Auto Business Review, said that in the first two months of this year, 24781 new energy vehicles were sold in China, a year-on-year decline of 30.5%, and the sales volume was surpassed by the United States. The drawbacks of excessive reliance on policies have been exposed, and if new energy vehicles represented by electric vehicles want to truly gain market acceptance, they still need to continuously mature their technology and products.

At the Shanghai Electronics Show in Munich in mid March, TE Connectivity (TE), a leading global enterprise in the field of connectivity and sensing, brought integrated solutions such as battery pack connection and protection solutions, charging solutions, high-voltage connectors and wiring harnesses, and high-voltage distribution boxes.

Li Wanxiang, Sales General Manager of TE China Automotive Business Unit, said that to ensure the safety and efficiency of batteries, it is necessary to use ICB (Integrated Circuit Board) at the cell level to collect data on the voltage, current, temperature, and other parameters of each cell. The ICB data is then collected by the module control unit, and high-voltage connectors are required for the series connection of high currents between each module. The entire battery pack also requires high-voltage connectors for external transmission, These are all TE's strengths.

Another issue is that both national regulations and technological iterations have increasingly high requirements for the energy density of batteries, which requires battery manufacturers to store more energy in the smallest possible space. The space of connectors and other auxiliary components is constantly compressed, and small size has become one of the core competitiveness of such connectors. We are now using 0.5mm connectors to meet this demand, "said Li Wanxiang.

The energy storage system of electric vehicles must undergo thermal overload protection. In order to disconnect the current in a timely manner after the vehicle stalls or malfunctions, a combination of high-voltage fuses and contactors is usually used in the connection between the power battery and the electrical circuit. Ordinary high-voltage circuits are prone to generating arcs when connected or disconnected, leading to combustion and explosion.

TE has two types of high-voltage contactors, inflatable and non inflatable, to adapt to different product combinations. It has high-performance arc extinguishing magnets, and other measures can effectively suppress switching arcs.

Taking the non inflatable high-voltage contactor EVC 250 as an example, it can achieve a continuous rated current of 250 amperes and can withstand an overcurrent of up to 6000 amperes for 20 milliseconds without affecting any critical performance. The current can also be completely cut off under the Low-pressure area of 5000m above sea level, without maintenance and replacement caused by pressure loss or air leakage. When the current greatly exceeds the current limit, the excess pressure can be released without damaging the housing.

In addition to high-voltage connectors and contactors, there are also products such as pre charging relays, current sensors, and pre charging resistors. TE has a complete set of solutions for battery packs and vehicle circuits.

TE, which plays both the role of a first tier supplier and a second tier supplier, is a large multinational component enterprise that entered China in 1989. Its automotive business unit has rapidly developed with the Chinese automotive market. In fiscal 2016, TE's global revenue was $12.2 billion, while China's revenue was $2.2 billion, accounting for nearly 20% of the global revenue.

TE China Automotive Business Unit currently has two exclusive production bases (factories within the bonded area and factories outside the bonded area) and one leasing factory, both located in the Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu Province. The factories outside the bonded area began a phase II expansion with an investment of nearly $100 million in early 2017. The factories within the bonded area are currently planning phase III expansion, and a third exclusive factory is also under planning.

Li Wanxiang, who graduated from the Department of Automotive Engineering at Tsinghua University and started working at TE in 1998, believes that the reason for the rapid development of TE's China Automotive Division is not only due to its leading technology, but also the closest service to customers.

We have always regarded ourselves as a local company, with all Chinese and local talents below the general manager. Our work philosophy and diligence are also localized, and customers' needs are definitely echoed and quickly executed, "said Li Wanxiang.

In the long run, this enterprise will undoubtedly prosper along with the inevitable prosperity of China's new energy vehicle industry.