QPT, GaN Systems team for GaN in EVs
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UK power startup QPT has signed a deal with GaN Systems for high speed GaN power in electric vehicles.
QPT’s power design requires high-speed GaN transistors to operate up to 20MHz, and the deal will investigate the possibilities of using the higher efficiencies to boost the driving range of EVs.
QPT’s technology enables motors to be driven at up to 99.7% efficiency at peak load with hardly any decrease in efficiency at lower loads. This is a challenge for conventional designs today, where the efficiency can drop off rapidly at lower loads.
The GaN Systems devices can quickly transition from on to off at 1-2ns instead of 20-50ns for silicon IGBTs andsilicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs. The company has key deals with EV makers such as BMW, which has led to the acquisition by Infineon Technologies. The deal formalises the earlier development work that uses machine learning and AI detailed in eeNews Europe at
An additional boost comes from integrating and shrinking the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) that controls the motor speed. Current VFDs are bulky, which means that it is invariably located away from the motor itself and then connected by copper cables that are big and heavy to cope with the hundreds of amps or so going through them.
QPT’s next-generation GaN technology shrinks the size of a VFD to around a twentieth of the size, reducing weight, and, more importantly, the size reduction means that it can be co-located beside the motor.
This integrated motor solution eliminates the need for long heavy copper cables, which can total up to a significant weight and cost reduction at around half a meter each. Additionally, the copper cables have resistance marking less power loss and reducing the overall system efficiency. All these factors mean that QPT’s solution without copper cables can increase the range of the car.
“GaN Systems produces the highest performing 650V power GaN devices, and this allows us to achieve the highest efficiency when combined with our technology. The better the efficiency of power usage, the greater the range of the EV,” said Rob Gwynne, QPT’s Founder, and CEO.
“Our calculations show that our VFD solution can reduce power usage by around 10% and even more when the motor operates at low speeds,” said Gwynne. “Together with the benefits of no long cables, that can significantly increase the range of an EV or a smaller battery for the same range. Our technology is encapsulated into modules to form a plug-and- play solution that can be dropped in to replace an existing VFD with the rest of the existing system, such as the microprocessor and software stack, staying the same.”
“We are impressed with the technologies that QPT has developed. They have unlocked functional improvement in performance, resulting in a highly optimized GaN solution for the EV market. In partnership, GaN Systems’ transistors and QPT technology could dramatically change the GaN market,” said Jim Witham, CEO at GaN Systems.
www.q-p-t.com; www.gansystems.com
