CGD partners with Ricardo and Nissan on UK EV project
Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD) is working with automotive company Ricardo on the development of a high-efficiency GaN-based traction inverter.
This is part of Project SUITE (Sustainable Use of Integrated Technology for EVs), a Nissan-led consortium and £10 million, UK Government-backed research initiative aimed at changing how EVs are charged, powered, and experienced.
The project was awarded funding as part of the UK Government’s £4 billion DRIVE35 programme, delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Innovate UK.
CGD’s ICeGaN integrated circuit will be used in the inverter design to help deliver high efficiency, cost-effective, faster, low loss switching and reduced energy consumption versus power semiconductor solutions currently adopted in EVs.
ICeGaN has been designed to overcome the difficulties normally associated with incorporating and operating GaN by requiring fewer additional components and operating using standard gate drivers. Furthermore, ICeGaN is believed to be the only GaN technology that has achieved optimal current sharing when five or more devices are connected in parallel.
CGD says its engineering expertise in GaN technology will complement Ricardo’s in-house automotive experience and capabilities to help achieve the objective of designing and developing an advanced high-efficiency traction inverter.
As well as using GaN for an efficient, optimised traction inverter design, Project SUITE will also see the incorporation of intelligent technologies around the vehicle that will bring benefits such as reduced and automated charging, longer range, and reduced energy bills.
Dan Murphy, senior director product management, CGD said: “This is an exciting project for CGD to be involved with and underlines the value and importance of practical, easily adoptable GaN technologies to the necessary, continued evolution of EVs, and in this instance specifically next generation traction inverters. The expertise and resource of the consortium members, UK government backing, and Nissan as the lead are all constituent parts that will drive a highly valuable and useable outcome.”
Temoc Rodriguez, global technical expert in electric propulsion systems, Ricardo said: “Ricardo is a pioneer in the use of GaN semiconductor technology in high-power applications, and this project is the culmination of our R&D efforts over the last five years. This new product will be the first-of-a-kind for next-generation traction inverters that will operate at high efficiency at a reduced cost.”
