Wide Bandgap Tech Institute Gets More DOE Funding

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has renewed its funding for PowerAmerica, a North Carolina-based research institute serving power electronics engineers, students, and companies in the wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor space. The organization will receive $8 million initially, with the potential for $32 million over the following four years. 

 

PowerAmerica hosts wide bandgap short courses and workshops to educate industrial power electronics engineers on SiC and GaN technologies. Image used courtesy of PowerAmerica

 

Headquartered at North Carolina State University, PowerAmerica was formed in 2014 through the Manufacturing USA public-private research network and is one of seven DOE Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. One of its core activities is funding demonstrations of improved silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors, having commercialized nearly a dozen WBG technologies. Almost half of its 60 projects have reached commercial status or are on track to do so. 

The organization’s 89 members include 59 industry partners spanning the WBG supply chain, 25 university programs, and five national laboratories. The network has attracted fabrication and materials companies such as chip makers Wolfspeed and GlobalFoundries, SiC and GaN providers like Texas Instruments and Infineon, and WBG customers such as John Deere, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz. 

According to the DOE, the renewed funding adds to PowerAmerica’s initial federal allocation of $70 million and the $81 million cost share from its partners, for $151 million. Scaling up its workforce development program is a proposed focus of the DOE’s latest round of financial support. 

 

What Are Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials?

With high power efficiency at a smaller size and weight, WBG devices are found in several applications using power electronics, from data centers and industrial equipment to renewable energy systems to electric vehicles, home appliances, and television displays. Compared to conventional silicon-based materials, SiC and GaN boost the performance and efficiency of power electronics modules. High-performing WBG devices enable a longer driving range for EVs, ease the integration of renewables on the power grid, and yield energy savings via increased efficiency. 

 

Video used courtesy of PowerAmerica

 

While both SiC and GaN supply superior power density and efficiency, each offers unique benefits in certain applications and topologies. For example, according to Texas Instruments, SiC field-effect transistors (FETs) can reach as high as 1,200 V and have high current-carrying functions that often fit applications like automotive traction inverters, solar systems, and large grid converters. GaN FETs have a typical voltage of 600 V and enable high-density converters in applications like consumer devices, servers, telecom power supplies, and EV onboard chargers. 

 

PowerAmerica’s WBG Projects and Workforce Programs

PowerAmerica focuses on addressing the operational limitations of traditional designs based on silicon. Projects in its fifth budget cycle run the gamut from foundry and device development to module design and manufacturing. It also focuses on building commercialization applications, such as SiC-based high-speed medium voltage (MV) motor drives and shore-to-ship MV SiC converter systems for asynchronous microgrids. 

 

PowerAmerica’s membership base includes market-leading players like Wolfspeed, GaN Systems, Analog Devices, end-customers such as General Electric and Nissan, and universities and government research labs. Image used courtesy of PowerAmerica

 

Some examples include a project with Wolfspeed to increase the adoption of MV SiC power modules, working with Virginia Tech on a high voltage bidirectional onboard charger with integrated PCB winding magnetic components, and teaming up with the University of North Carolina Charlotte to develop a modular hybrid SiC and Si-based battery inverter for energy storage integration. 

PowerAmerica also runs an education and workforce development program that has trained over 400 master’s and doctorate students, 2,100 short-course and tutorial participants, and 9,000 K-12 students via STEM programs. PowerAmerica has proposed using its new DOE funding to expand its workforce resources. Power electronics engineers are in high demand amid the ever-growing market for WBG-enabled applications like EVs and renewables.