Joint R&D effort to develop an EV inverter based on gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology
– VisIC’s D3GaN technology, with lowest losses per Rdson combined with ZF’s highly efficient EV driveline systems extend the range of electric cars and reduce its system cost
NES ZIONA, Israel and FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany, May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a global leading automotive supplier, and VisIC Technologies Ltd., a global leader in gallium nitride (GaN) devices for automotive high-voltage applications, announce today a partnership to create the next generation of high-performance and high-efficiency electric drivelines for vehicles.
The partnership will see the two companies deepen their development efforts, based on VisIC D3GaN semiconductors technology. The focus of the joint efforts will be on 400-Volt driveline applications, covering the largest segment of the electric vehicle market.
“Our partnership with ZF for the development of gallium nitride-based power inverters in electric vehicles illustrates the break-through of gallium nitride technology in the automotive industry,” said Tamara Baksht, CEO of VisIC. “VisIC’s D3GaN technology was developed for the high reliability standards of the automotive industry and offers the lowest losses per Rdson. It also simplifies the system solution and enables high-efficiency and affordable power train solutions. It is definitely the next step for the automotive electrical driveline.”
ZF’s fast adoption of wide band gap semiconductor technology, such as silicon-carbide and gallium nitride, makes it a leader in the development of the most cost-effective and highly efficient electric drivelines. Through their extended R&D partnership, ZF and VisIC deepens their existing joint efforts in the application of gallium nitride semiconductors for inverters.
Gallium nitride semiconductors are key to further improve efficiency and performance of electrified vehicles, from hybrid up to full electric applications. This technology offers significantly better switching speed, range improvements as well as smaller and lighter package size, thereby reducing total system cost. “We are pleased about the cooperation with VisIC and are convinced that together we can further improve future electric drive systems based on gallium nitride technology,” says Dr. Dirk Walliser, Senior Vice President Corporate Research and Development at ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
This press release and further information can be found at www.visic-tech.com and www.press.zf.com.
VisIC Technologies Ltd.
VisIC Technologies is a world leader in GaN electronics for xEV applications, focused on high-power automotive solutions. Its efficient and scalable products are based on deep technological knowledge of gallium-nitride and decades of experience. VisIC is committed to provide a step function improvement in terms of size and cost of energy conversion systems and dedicated to high-quality customer support at all development phases. VisIC offers high power transistor products based upon compound semiconductor Gallium Nitride (GaN) material aiming to provide products for cost effective and high-performance automotive inverter systems.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
ZF is a global technology company and supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology, enabling the next generation of mobility. With its comprehensive technology portfolio, the company offers integrated solutions for established vehicle manufacturers, mobility providers and start-up companies in the fields of transportation and mobility. ZF continually enhances its systems in the areas of digital connectivity and automation in order to allow vehicles to see, think and act.
In 2019, ZF achieved sales of €36.5 billion. The company has a global workforce of 148,000 with approximately 240 locations in 41 countries. ZF invested seven percent of its sales in research and development.
