Contactors Enable Safe Operation in EVs and More

GV210 Series of hermetically sealed, gas-filled contactors offer high performance in a compact package for applications carrying 150A and below at 12 to 900 VDC. The series is the latest addition to Sensata’s GIGAVAC brand product line and is suitable as the main contactor for rapidly electrifying applications such as forklifts, home energy storage, and small EVs as well as the pre-charge contactor in larger battery pack applications such as utility-scale energy storage and large EVs.

The GV210 can efficiently carry up to 150A continuously with low power losses. Capable of high pulse currents for fuse coordination, the contactor is able to switch loads which enables safe operation. The hermetic seal exceeds IP67 and IP69 and prevents oxidation, allowing for reliable operation in corrosive or wet applications across a long mechanical life of one million cycles. With an intrinsically safe design that is not mounting position sensitive, the GV210 series is suitable for use in a wide variety of installations in hazardous classified operating environments. The ability to switch and carry high currents on modest size conductors makes this series a more capable solution than open-air contactors.

At 52-mm tall with a 40-mm diameter, the compact, gas-filled GV210 contactor weighs less than 200 g, enabling lightweight and streamlined packaging in often space-restricted equipment. In small Lithium-ion battery packs in the 12 to 900VDC range at continuous operating currents up to 150A, the GV210 is ideal as a main contactor on both the positive and negative conductors. This includes applications with continuous power levels in the 3 to 100kW range.