General Motors describes a charging circuit that shares components with the electric drivetrain. Published on September 10, 2026, application US20260264550A1 combines AC charging with motor windings and the traction inverter. That could reduce the hardware needed for a separate onboard charger.
The challenge is switching between functions
Grid AC enters the neutral point of the motor windings. The inverter performs rectification, while a DC/DC converter adjusts the voltage for the battery. Switches separate propulsion and charging. The inverter capacitor is precharged before connecting to the grid. Near the grid voltage's zero crossing, selected switching operations pause to prevent a low-impedance short-circuit path. Phase-shifted pulse-width modulation aims to reduce current ripple. An additional inverter leg remains part of the circuit.
Claims 1 and 5–9 and paragraphs 0062–0067 describe these measures. This is therefore not charging without additional power electronics.
Assessment: Integration must pay off at vehicle level
Reusing propulsion components for charging is an older concept; Huawei's US11699957B2 also describes such an approach. The news here is GM's newly published circuit and control scheme, not the first appearance of the basic idea.
In our assessment, the balance of the complete system matters: Charger savings must outweigh additional switches, cooling and control effort. The reviewed passages establish neither a measured efficiency advantage nor specific weight or cost savings. They identify no vehicle model or launch date.
Document status, checked September 12: a published US application by GM Global Technology Operations LLC, filed March 10, 2025, as 19/075,550. The cover lists no earlier priority claim. This A1 document is not evidence of a patent grant.