Tokyo-Mitsubishi Electric Corp has completed installation of, and begun testing, railcar traction converter/inverter systems with all-silicon carbide (SiC) power modules on N700 Shinkansen bullet trains for Central Japan Railway Company (JR-Central). These are the first 3.3kV, 1500A traction systems to be installed on a high-speed train line, reckons the firm.
Mitsubishi Electric has been working to downsize its traction system for Shinkansen bullet trains. The use of SiC power modules reduces the new converter/inverter system's size and weight by about 55% and 35%, respectively, compared to existing systems. The weight of the traction motor, including this system, is reduced by about 15%.
The power modules were developed with support from Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
