News: Microelectronics
15 November 2022
CGD and Neways co-developing GaN-based solar inverters
At 10am on 17 November at Electronica 2022 in Messe München, Munich, Germany, fabless semiconductor company Cambridge GaN Devices Ltd (CGD) and Neways Electronics of Eindhoven, The Netherlands (which develops and produces electronics for smart mobility, semiconductor and connectivity solutions) are signing an agreement in Neways’ booth (Hall A1, Stand 306) to develop high-efficiency photovoltaic solar inverter products based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology.
Spun out of the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering’s Electrical Power and Energy Conversion group in 2016 by Dr Giorgia Longobardi and professor Florin Udrea, CGD designs, develops and commercializes power semiconductors products that use GaN-on-silicon substrates.
“Neways and CGD are perfectly aligned in our commitment to a sustainable future based on clean tech energy,” says CGD co-founder & CEO Longobardi. “This program to jointly develop photovoltaic products that lead the world in terms of efficiency and performance will move the market forward,” she believes.
“Neways is committed to working with like-minded innovative companies to bring state-of-the-art, sustainable energy solutions to the market,” says Neways Electronics’ chief technology officer Hans Ketelaars. “The combination of Neways’ extensive systems experience and CGD’s high-efficiency, rugged and simple-to-use GaN devices is a perfect fit for this application.”
Forged after the two companies met while collaborating on the European-funded GaNext project, the partnership has already borne fruit. At Electronica, both on the Neways booth and at CGD’s booth (Hall C3, Stand 535), visitors can see a demo of a 3kW photovoltaic inverter jointly developed by the two companies. Using eight CGD65A055S2 GaN transistors, the transformer-less, ultra-compact design achieves a power density of 1kW/L. With a Vin of 150-350VDC, a Vout of 230VAC and a switching frequency 350kHz, the design has a maximum efficiency of 99.22%.
