NexGen Power Systems recently announced that it will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) in support of a new collaborative project with GM to develop electric drive systems leveraging NexGen’s Vertical GaN semiconductor technology. The collaborative project seeks to enhance the efficiency, performance, and sustainability of new electric vehicles, with a focus on power electronics design, motor integration, thermal management, and system-level optimization for electric drive systems. The recent announcement follows news released in February regarding the availability of engineering samples for NexGen’s 700V and 1200V semiconductors.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, NexGen Power Systems designs, develops, and manufactures semiconductors for high-power applications and power conversion systems. Its portfolio of Vertical GaN technologies includes over 100 fundamental patents in device architecture, process technology, and circuitry. NexGen semiconductors are manufactured in Syracuse, New York.
NexGen’s new collaborative effort with GM will introduce Vertical GaN based inverter drive systems to the electric vehicle market, enabling GM to improve on vehicle range, reduce vehicle weight, and enhance reliability. According to NexGen, the company’s 1200V, 1 Ohm, Vertical GaN e-mode Fin-jFETs technology has demonstrated greater than 1 MHz switching at 1.4kV rated voltage.
“We are excited that the DoE award gives us the opportunity to develop GaN-based electric drive systems with a leading automotive manufacturer like General Motors,” said the Chief Executive Officer at NexGen, Shahin Sharifzadeh, with the recent announcement.
In further GM-related government contract news, The General’s military vehicle and technology division, GM Defense, was recently awarded a contract from the Department of Defense to prototype a new energy storage unit in support of tactical microgrid and energy management capabilities. The new system will incorporate GM’s electric vehicle propulsion system, better known as the GM Ultium platform. The system is intended to provide an uninterruptible and sustainable power source for mission critical equipment, such as command and control, communications, radar, and weapons systems.
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Comment
Higher voltages allows more power with smaller wires, saving weight. The TV sets of the past had up to 25kV circuits, so this is not new technology.