News: Microelectronics
21 September 2023
Infineon providing 1200V CoolSiC MOSFETs for Infypower’s EV charger stations
Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany is providing 1200V CoolSiC MOSFET power semiconductor devices to improve the efficiency of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations made by Infypower of Shenzhen, China. Since being founded in 2014, Infypower has focused on power electronics and intelligent control, and provides EV charging modules, smart energy routers, supercharging stations, and photovoltaic energy storage systems.
“The collaboration between Infineon and Infypower in the field of charging solutions for electric vehicles provides an excellent system-level technology solution for the local EV charging station industry,” reckons Dr Peter Wawer, division president of Infineon’s Green Industrial Power Division. “It will significantly improve charging efficiency, accelerate charging speed, and create a better user experience for owners of electric cars,” he adds.
“With Infineon’s more than 20 years of continuous advancement in SiC product offering and the strength of integrated technology, Infypower can consolidate and maintain its technological outstanding position in the industry by adopting state-of-the-art product processes and design solutions,” comments Qiu Tianquan, president of Infypower China. “We can also set a new standard for charging efficiency of DC chargers for new energy vehicles.”
SiC’s high power density enables the development of high-performance, lightweight and compact chargers, especially for supercharging stations and ultra-compact wall-mounted DC charging stations. Compared with traditional silicon-based solutions, SiC technology in EV charging stations can increase efficiency by 1%, reducing energy losses and operating costs. In a 100kW charging station, this translates to 1kWh of electricity savings, saving €270 annually and reducing carbon emissions by 3.5 tons, and helping to drive the increasing adoption of SiC power devices in EV charging modules.
As one of the first SiC power semiconductor manufacturers to use trench-gate technology for transistors, Infineon has introduced a design that provides high reliability for chargers, it is claimed. Offering a high threshold voltage and simplified gate driving, the CoolSiC MOSFET technology has been subjected to marathon stress tests and gate voltage jump stress tests before commercial release and regularly afterwards in the form of monitoring to ensure high gate reliability.
By integrating Infineon’s 1200V CoolSiC MOSFETs, Infypower’s 30kW DC charging module is said to offer a wide constant power range, high power density, minimal electromagnetic radiation and interference, high protection performance and high reliability. It is hence reckoned to be well suited for the fast-charging demands of most EVs while providing 1% higher efficiency compared with other solutions on the market.
