QPT wins ABB power density challenge
qGaN technology will be used to develop an integrated solution to deliver major power savings in motors and drives
UK start-up QPT has announced that it has won the ABB 'Power Density Start-up Challenge 2023' for Motor Drive Products.
ABB was seeking start-ups to push the boundaries of drives and motors. As the winner , QPT will collaborate with ABB to develop an integrated solution that optimises resources and combines motors and drives into a single, seamless solution.
QPT’s qGaN technology solves the issues of RF and overheating so that GaN can now be driven at the very high speeds needed to deliver major power savings in motors and drives.
Rob Gwynne, founder and CTO of QPT, said: “We are over the moon that ABB has chosen QPT’s technology as the one that they will work with on projects to enhance the efficiencies of their drives and motors. We look forward to collaborating closely with ABB. As motors account for around 45 percent of the world’s electricity use, this could be a significant way to help reduce climate change.”
qGaN technology
Gwynne added, “Our qGaN technology enables drives controls or Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to be made much smaller as we achieve the best power densities and efficiencies of any current technology. We do this by being able hard-switch 650V GaN transistors from GaN Systems (an Infineon company) incredibly fast at only 1 to 2ns to slash energy losses.
“Current VFDs are invariably located away from the motor itself and then connected by copper cables that are big and heavy to cope with the high currents going through them and also waste energy in the process. QPT’s next generation GaN technology shrinks the size of a VFD to around a twentieth of the size so that it can be integrated beside the motor. The need for big, costly filters that Si, SiC or slow existing GaN alternatives require and preclude easy integration is also eliminated further reducing the overall size which further helps integration.
He concluded: "Companies think that they have to move from Si or GaN to SiC for their next generation products without realising its limitations. Our qGaN technology means that they can easily leapfrog over SiC to a solution that delivers better energy savings with minimal redesign work and a roadmap for further generations of their products as we can drive GaN to ultra-high speeds for more energy savings that nothing else can achieve.”
