Driving the Next Generation of Industrial Mobility

Electrification is rapidly changing the landscape of material handling and logistics. Electric forklifts and other material handling vehicles (MHVs) are becoming the standard, driven by the need for clean, quiet and efficient operation in warehouses and factories. Chargers are at the heart of this transformation.

Understanding the Needs of Industrial Charging

Unlike passenger electric vehicles, e-forklifts operate in closely scheduled environments. Any downtime can be costly, and flexibility is key. These things increase the demand for different charging use cases – overnight charging, opportunity charging during breaks and wireless charging in automated environments. Recognizing these evolving trends, Infineon continues to adjust and expand its portfolio to meet the power, safety and reliability requirements in this domain.

From high-voltage, high-efficiency power MOSFETs to intelligent microcontrollers (MCUs) and advanced gate drivers, Infineon offers the building blocks that charger designers need. Even more importantly, Infineon has evolved into a complete solution provider, offering system reference designs for common topologies along with technical documentation and design tools to speed up the development.

Building Blocks for Industrial Chargers

Whether it’s a 1-3kW overnight charger or a 10kW system for opportunity charging, the core design challenges remain the same: reliable operation, safe communication, and best cost-size relation. Infineon addresses these needs by expanding its portfolio with the products below.

1. PSOC™ Control C3 Microcontrollers – Precision Meets Real-Time Control

A charger’s intelligence lies in its ability to manage power stages, interface with the battery management system (BMS) and respond to system-level events in real time.

Infineon’s PSOC™ Control C3 is a new family of high-performance industrial-grade real-time microcontrollers for these tasks. Based on the Arm^® Cortex^®- M33 core, the family features fast analog and digital peripherals, programmable hardware accelerators and high-resolution PWM channels. The MCU family is ideal for managing:

• Power factor correction (PFC) stage such as totem pole
• High-frequency LLC resonant converters
• Safety monitoring and diagnostics
• CC-CV control over CAN. 

The MCU family is up to PSA Level 3 certified, ensuring robust cybersecurity features for secure communication and making it future-proof for evolving industrial security standards.

2. CoolSiC™ Gen2 Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs – Power Density and Reliability

To meet the growing demand for fast charging without sacrificing size or efficiency, designers are increasingly adopting SiC MOSFETs – and Infineon delivers.

The new generation of CoolSiC™ Gen2 MOSFETs has been significantly extended and covers:

• Wide range of voltage classes including 400V, 650V, 750V and 1200V 
• RDS(on) values down to ultra-low levels of 7m? for minimum conduction losses
• Various packages including top-side, bottom-side cooling or THT options 

These devices excel in both hard and soft switching topologies such as totem pole PFC or resonant LLC converter, helping designers achieve highs efficiency and reduced thermal design requirements. The switches can sustain a junction temperature up to 175°C and have proven track in the field, making them a reliable choice for harsh industrial environments. Whether you’re designing an overnight wall charger or a DC fast charger, the CoolSiC™ family has the right SiC device to match.

3. OptiMOS™ Medium-Voltage MOSFETs – Optimized for 36-48–96V Systems

Charger design also requires high-performance MOSFETs for secondary-side synchronous rectification and battery protections. These switching devices need to be fast, efficient, and thermally robust. Many e-forklifts and MHVs are based on 48V or 96V battery packs which requires MOSFET voltage ratings for up to 250V. 

Infineon’s OptiMOS™ 6 power MOSFETs is developed precisely for this segment, offering:

• Extensive range of voltage ratings from 60V to 250V
• Low RDS(on) options for reduced conduction losses
• Wide range of packages (SuperSO8, TO-Leadless, D2PAK, etc.) for design flexibility
• Excellent figures of merit (FOM) for both hard- and soft-switching topologies

OptiMOS™ 6 MOSFETs support paralleling for optimal current sharing, are proven in demanding industrial chargers, and continue to evolve with new voltage classes, lower RDS(on) options, and package choices – ensuring scalability for tomorrow’s charger platforms.

Accelerating Development with Reference Designs

The strength of Infineon’s offering goes beyond components. Recognizing the tight development timelines and system complexity faced by charger manufacturers, Infineon invests heavily in reference designs that combine:

• Pre-validated hardware schematics and layouts
• Firmware for power stage control and communication
• Application notes and design guides
• Safety and EMI/EMC considerations

Whether you’re building a full charger system or evaluating components for integration, Infineon’s reference designs provide a proven foundation that reduces risk and speeds up time-to-market.

Recent charger reference boards from Infineon cover different topologies such as EVAL_3K3W_TP_PFC_SIC2 (3kW totem pole PFC), EVAL_3K3W_LLC_HB_CFD7 (3kW LLC converter) and EVAL_3KW_50V_PSU (3kW totem pole PFC and LLC converter)

A Partner for the Electrified Future

As electrification of forklifts and material handling fleets continue to grow, the challenges of power conversion, safety, and system integration will only intensify.

By offering not just semiconductors, but also system-level insights, complete reference designs, and a forward-looking product roadmap, Infineon positions itself as a trusted partner to OEMs, tier-1 suppliers and charger manufacturers.

For further information on Infineon's offerings, visit https://www.infineon.com/application/battery-chargers.