South Korean automotive supplier INFAC has developed an 800V battery pack design for electric vehicles. The system integrates isolated and regulated DC-DC conversion directly inside the battery enclosure.
This approach converts high-voltage battery power into a 48V supply near its source. As a result, future EV platforms can distribute power through shorter and lighter low-voltage connections.
The design uses Vicor’s BCM6135 DC-DC converter and PRM3735 regulator modules. Together, these components support a compact 48V zonal architecture for vehicle electronics.
INFAC targets simpler EV power distribution
Electric vehicles typically use high-voltage batteries to supply traction inverters and motors. However, many other systems operate at lower voltage levels.
These systems include body electronics, chassis functions, controllers, actuators, sensors, and other vehicle subsystems. Their combined requirements can reach between 3.5 kW and 12 kW, according to Vicor.
Traditional designs often place the main DC-DC converter outside the high-voltage battery pack. This arrangement requires separate cabling, mounting hardware, cooling equipment, and protective enclosures.
INFAC’s architecture takes a different approach. It moves the high-voltage-to-48V conversion stage inside the battery pack itself. This change turns the battery into more than an energy-storage device. It becomes a central power-conversion and distribution hub for the vehicle.
Why 48V matters in zonal architectures
A zonal vehicle architecture groups electrical functions according to their physical location. Each zone can manage local sensors, actuators, controllers, and power loads.
The approach differs from older architectures, which grouped electronics by function. Traditional systems often routed separate wiring harnesses from central control units throughout the vehicle.
A 48V distribution network can carry more power with lower current than a 12V system. Therefore, designers can reduce cable thickness while supporting more demanding electrical loads.
Texas Instruments describes zonal designs as systems that combine power distribution, communication, and load control by location. Its 48V reference design includes zone control modules, smart electronic fuses, high-side switches, and motor drivers.
DC-DC conversion moves inside the pack
INFAC based its design on an existing feature within modern EV battery packs. High-voltage battery systems already use liquid cooling to control cell and pack temperatures.
External DC-DC converters generally require their own thermal-management arrangements. This can introduce another coolant loop, additional interfaces, and more packaging complexity.
By placing the converter inside the battery pack, INFAC can use the existing cooling infrastructure. The design therefore avoids duplicating some thermal-management hardware.
The integration also reduces the distance between the battery output and the first conversion stage. This can simplify high-voltage cable routing across the vehicle.
However, the design introduces significant engineering challenges. Engineers must manage electrical isolation, safety, heat transfer, vibration, sealing, and long-term packaging reliability inside the pack.
Compact dimensions support battery integration
INFAC reports a system measuring 215 × 45 × 82 millimeters. Its stated volume is approximately 793 cubic centimeters, while its weight reaches about 1.5 kilograms.
That compact package allows the conversion hardware to fit within the battery enclosure. It also avoids displacing battery cells or reducing the pack’s usable range.
The company’s design departs from the conventional “silver box” approach. In that arrangement, a large standalone power-conversion assembly occupies space elsewhere in the vehicle.
Vicor says its power modules helped make the smaller architecture practical. The modules combine power-conversion topologies, control functions, components, and packaging into compact units.
Vicor modules enable the 48V system
The INFAC design uses two Vicor components with different electrical roles. The BCM6135 performs isolated high-voltage conversion, while the PRM3735 regulates the resulting 48V bus.
The BCM6135 converts an 800V battery input into a 48V output. Vicor lists the module with a 2.5 kW power rating and up to 80 amperes of output current.
Its specified 800V input range extends from 520V to 920V. Vicor lists a peak efficiency of 97.3 percent for the 800V version.
The PRM3735 provides regulated 48V output after the initial conversion stage. It also carries a 2.5 kW power rating and reaches a stated peak efficiency of 99.2 percent.
Key electrical specifications
The main reported specifications include:
- BCM6135 isolated converter for 800V-to-48V conversion.
- BCM6135 power rating of 2.5 kW.
- BCM6135 output current of up to 80 amperes.
- BCM6135 peak efficiency of 97.3 percent.
- PRM3735 regulator power rating of 2.5 kW.
- PRM3735 peak efficiency of 99.2 percent.
- INFAC integrated system weight of approximately 1.5 kilograms.
- INFAC integrated system volume of approximately 793 cubic centimeters.
Vicor introduced the BCM6135, DCM3735, and PRM3735 as a family of automotive-grade power modules in 2024. The broader platform supports high-voltage-to-48V conversion, 48V regulation, and 48V-to-12V conversion for legacy vehicle systems.
The DCM3735 is not identified as part of INFAC’s reported integrated design. However, it can support 48V-to-12V conversion in wider vehicle power-delivery architectures.
Reduced wiring can improve vehicle packaging
The integrated architecture can reduce the length and thickness of high-voltage cables. It can also simplify routing between the battery, DC-DC converter, and other vehicle systems.
High-voltage cables require insulation, shielding, mechanical protection, and carefully controlled routing. Reducing their length can free packaging space and simplify vehicle assembly.
The approach may also reduce the number of brackets and protective enclosures. These changes can lower component counts and reduce the material required for the overall power network.
Fewer external connections can provide another advantage. Each connector, coolant interface, and cable termination creates a potential manufacturing or reliability concern.
INFAC identifies several expected system-level benefits:
- Fewer high-voltage cables and connectors.
- Reduced cooling-system duplication.
- Lower requirements for brackets and enclosures.
- Lower system weight and bill-of-materials costs.
- Fewer external interfaces and potential leak points.
- Simpler high-voltage harness routing.
- More consistent manufacturing processes.
These benefits apply to the complete power-delivery system rather than one converter alone. Therefore, the final result depends on the battery enclosure, cooling design, vehicle topology, and safety strategy.
Less hardware does not remove engineering requirements
Integrating conversion into the battery pack can simplify some systems. Nevertheless, it also concentrates additional functions within a safety-critical enclosure.
The battery must now accommodate power electronics alongside cells, busbars, contactors, sensors, and thermal-management hardware. Engineers must coordinate electromagnetic compatibility and thermal performance within that shared environment.
The converter must also withstand the battery pack’s mechanical and environmental conditions. These conditions can include vibration, temperature cycling, humidity, coolant exposure, and crash-related loads.
The available announcement does not provide detailed test results for these areas. It also does not disclose production timing, vehicle-program names, or confirmed OEM applications.
Zonal architectures support modular EV platforms
A 48V zonal network can help vehicle manufacturers develop more modular electrical platforms. Designers can position zone control modules close to their local loads.
This layout can shorten branch connections and reduce the need for separate harnesses running across the entire vehicle. It can also support software-defined vehicle architectures with centralized computing and distributed execution.
Vicor’s modules can be connected in parallel when a platform requires additional power. The company states that the BCM6135 supports scalable power delivery through multiple modules.
For example, three BCM6135 modules can provide a combined 7.5 kW conversion stage. This modular approach allows manufacturers to adapt the power system for different vehicle sizes and electrical loads.
Potential applications beyond body electronics
A regulated 48V network can supply more than lighting and comfort functions. It can support active suspension, electric pumps, thermal actuators, steering-related systems, and other high-power loads.
Vicor has also described the BCM6135 as suitable for fast transient loads. Such loads can require rapid changes in current without relying on a large intermediate energy-storage system.
However, each application requires separate validation. Critical chassis and propulsion-related systems need appropriate redundancy, diagnostics, functional-safety measures, and fault isolation.
The INFAC announcement focuses on the battery-integrated conversion concept. It does not claim that every vehicle load can operate directly from the new 48V architecture.
INFAC expands its electrification portfolio
INFAC has supplied automotive electromechanical and electronic systems for more than five decades. The company began with products such as horns, actuators, and antennas.
It now describes electric-vehicle battery systems and electrification-control technologies as strategic growth areas. INFAC serves global vehicle manufacturers across Asian and North American markets.
The company’s manufacturing footprint could help translate the integrated design into multiple vehicle platforms. However, the announcement does not confirm commercial production or identify a launch vehicle.
That distinction matters because a design demonstration does not necessarily indicate immediate series production. Further validation would be needed before automakers deploy the architecture in mass-market vehicles.
What the design could mean for EV development
INFAC’s battery-integrated DC-DC converter addresses several pressures affecting modern EV platforms. Automakers want lower mass, simpler wiring, higher electrical efficiency, and more flexible electronic architectures.
Moving conversion inside the battery pack can address these objectives simultaneously. It reduces the distance between the energy source and the low-voltage distribution network.
The concept also supports the industry’s broader shift toward 48V zonal architectures. Those systems can provide higher low-voltage power while reducing cable size compared with conventional 12V networks.
Still, the approach involves trade-offs. A failure in the integrated converter could affect both battery-pack serviceability and vehicle low-voltage operation.
Manufacturers must therefore balance packaging gains against accessibility, redundancy, thermal management, and repair requirements. The architecture’s commercial value will depend on how effectively those issues are resolved.
INFAC’s announcement presents a significant packaging change rather than a new battery-cell chemistry. Its main innovation lies in combining battery integration, high-density conversion, existing liquid cooling, and 48V zonal distribution.
If validated for production, the design could help make future EV electrical systems lighter and more modular. It could also position the battery pack as the central node of the vehicle’s power-delivery network.
Sources: VICOR
