A large consortium of industrial and academic players will for the first time in Europe introduce silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) in the power electronic circuits and charging infrastructure of electrified vehicles - including electric and hybrid cars. This way, they will help increasing the driving range, and reducing the energy consumption and price of the vehicles. Steve Stoffels, project manager at imec, and Stefaan Decoutere, program director GaN technology at imec, shed light on this HiPERFORM project, and clarify imec's role.

Joint European effort aims for more energy efficient electric cars

With a share of approximately 23%, the transportation system in Europe contributes significantly to the total Greenhouse gas emissions and global climate warming. The automotive industry therefore faces the tremendous challenge of reducing emissions of CO2, which is one of the main Greenhouse gases emitted from vehicles. The massive introduction of affordable and energy-efficient electric vehicles is a key measure to help meet the ambitious CO2 targets and realize a decarbonized transportation system.

“In this context, a large number of European industrial companies and research institutes, including imec, have teamed up to introduce for the first time wide-bandgap technologies in the power electronic circuits and charging infrastructure of electric cars.”

Within the HiPERFORM project, they will help reducing a significant amount of the energy losses and sizes of the electronic power circuits. For example, if only 2% of the cars will use these new technologies, direct energy savings of 12.83TWh per year can be expected. These advanced power electronic technologies will not only allow for longer driving ranges and less energy consumption, they are also expected to contribute to the price reduction of electric cars.

For detailed information, please visit the website: https://powerelectronicsworld.net/article/106611/A_new_generation_of_power_electronics_will_make_electric_cars_more_efficient_