Nexperia, Stockport semiconductor and electronics manufacturer, has announced a partnership with automotive consultants, Ricardo, to produce technology for electric vehicles.
Nexperia’s gallium nitride (GaN) technology is the preferred switch for automotive inverter applications because it offers greater efficiencies and improved performance, extending range and battery life for electric vehicles.
GaN is now on the brink of replacing existing silicon-based technology for the traction inverters used in plug-in hybrids or full battery electric cars.
Michael LeGoff, General Manager GaN, Nexperia:
By designing our GaN devices into an inverter and trialling them through Ricardo, we will be able to better understand how a vehicle can be driven safely and reliably. We are developing a real solution that I think a lot of automotive designers will be interested in having a look at and will find extremely advantageous.”
Ricardo is very well regarded in the automotive industry, the Global engineering innovation company designs and consults on concepts, and boast collaborations with high-profile leading brands such as McLaren and Bugatti. Ricardo was the perfect partner for Nexperia for this project. Adrian Greaney, Director Technology & Products at Ricardo said:
Semiconductor technology is key to the efficiency of the inverter system and the role that it plays in the performance and efficiency of an electrified vehicle. There are many associated benefits when we look at the design from a system level, and Ricardo is therefore pleased to be collaborating with Nexperia on GaN devices.”
Nexperia, is a global manufacturer of semiconductors, and has been based on Pepper Road in Stockport since the early 1970s. It has a long legacy of specialised manufacturing, previously under the ownership of Mullards, Philips and more recently, NXP, producing components used in the automotive industry, portable devices such as smartphones, industrial and consumer electronics, and communications infrastructure.
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