PowerAmerica calls for wide band gap projects
PowerAmerica, a private-public partnership between the US Department of Energy, industry and academia, has released a new call for projects to advance wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor manufacturing and to accelerate the adoption of WBG semiconductor power electronics applications.
Issued October 2nd, the call includes: requests participation on projects that lower the cost and increase the availability of wide bandgap power electronic devices by increasing GaN and SiC foundry capacity; projects that advance innovative WBG semiconductor devices from design through qualification and accelerate the pathway for devices to reach volume manufacturing; projects that increase the acceptance and adoption of WBG power electronics by advanced packaging and demonstrating reliability of SiC and GaN devices; and projects to accelerate commercialisation of WBG power electronics applications in a wide range of applications including transportation, renewable energy power conversion, communications, and high voltage systems.
"The advantages of WBG are tremendous," said John Muth, deputy director of PowerAmerica. "Compared to silicon, in many applications using WBG power electronics the system can be reduced in size and weight, operate at higher temperatures and cut energy losses in half. This is a great opportunity for U.S. industry to excel and compete with the rest of the world and is a fantastic area for young engineers to further their careers."
PowerAmerica is a private-public partnership between the US Department of Energy, industry and academia. Members include a growing number of leading U.S. companies, academic institutions, and government laboratories.
Led by North Carolina State University and located on Centennial Campus, the mission of PowerAmerica is to develop advanced manufacturing processes to enable cost-competitive, large-scale production of wide bandgap semiconductor-based power electronics, which allow electronic systems to be smaller, faster and more efficient than power electronics made from silicon. PowerAmerica is a $146 million program, with $70 million provided by the US Department of Energy and $76 million provided by industry, state and academia through cost sharing.
