February/March 2021

MARKET NEWS 13 www.power-mag.com Issue 1 2021 Power Electronics Europe the distances between the high current supplier module to the point of load (PoL), to lower PDN resistance which will minimize power loss in future supercomputing applications. Several major high- performance computing (HPC) manufacturers have moved over to this approach in effect turning the datacenter green from the inside out.” “By the end of 2021, for every European there will be at least one sighting of a delivery robot or drone on its way to dropping off a package or disinfecting public spaces as a part of our fight against the pandemic”, anticipates Henryk Dabrowski, VP Sales for Vicor in EMEA. “One of the key factors to expanding automated delivery services will be range and weight of the robot or drone. Vicor enables designers to lighten their drones for performance and manage power in such a way that the drones can fly further and more reliably than ever before. We predict that denser populations in Europe’s cities will see many more bots than drones, while more remote areas such as Alps will see more drones help with crisis issues and delivery of vital medical supplies, while heavier deliveries will be supported by autonomous trucks. In Europe, Tescos, Amazon, DHL and UPS have all began trials with delivery drones and we see the recent pandemic as the tipping point to push retail towards a complete digital transformation. The convenience of home delivery that people have become accustomed to during lockdown will mean that in-person shopping at your favourite store or supermarket will not return to pre-pandemic levels. The use of robots rolling around the streets, and drones in the air will enable retailers to provide deliveries at even lower cost. In China, drones have already begun deliveries to remote parts of the country, and we see accelerated progress with logistics companies achieving permissions from national flight authorities to allow for retail air travel via drone.” www.vicorpower.com Joseph Wolf (left in picture) has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed the outgoing CEO, John Hall, who has retired. Joe has been serving as a Vice President and the company’s Chief Financial Officer since 2016. Joe joined Powerex as a Sr. Financial Analyst in 2008. He steadily progressed in leadership roles during his tenure at the company rising from Controller to Director of Finance to CFO and now CEO. He is the right executive to lead the company during the challenging post-COVID-19 recovery and is pro-actively pursuing numerous opportunities to solidify Powerex as a premier supplier and trusted industry partner. He is equally committed to personal and professional growth of the highly dedicated Powerex Team members. In a related move, Ronald Yurko (right in picture) has been promoted from company Vice- President to Chief Operating Officer (COO). Ron joined Powerex in 2007 as an Engineering Manager. Ron was promoted to running the R&T Business Unit in 2010. In subsequent years he has taken on more responsibility in Sales and in helping forge company strategy. His strong Engineering and Manufacturing background, his Sales abilities, and his reputation with Powerex customers makes him an ideal choice for COO. Powerex is a joint venture between General Electric and Mitsubishi Electric with corporate headquarters and manufacturing located in Youngwood, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1986 and can trace its origins back to Westinghouse Electric, which established the facility at the current location in 1956. The 90,000 square feet of manufacturing space includes Silicon wafer processing, diffusion, assembly, test, and high reliability screening. Powerex also features a semi- automated manufacturing power module line in a Class 10,000 cleanroom. Its broad product line includes SiC MOSFETs, IGBTs, HVIGBTs, rectifiers, thyristors, custom power modules and assemblies. These highly reliable electronic component solutions are designed for the Defense, Aviation, Traction, Mining, Medical, and Renewable Energy markets. www.pwrx.com Powerex Announced New CEO/COO Nexperia will be making significant additional global investments in manufacturing capacity and research and development during 2021. The new investments are in line with a growth strategy that last year saw Wingtech Technology, Nexperia’s parent company, commit $1.85 billion to building a new 300 mm (12-inch) power semiconductor wafer fab in Lingang, Shanghai. This factory, which will go live in 2022, will have an estimated annual output of 400,000 wafers. Nexperia’s plans for this year include improving production efficiency and implementing new 200 mm technologies at its European wafer fabs in Hamburg/Germany and Manchester/UK. In Hamburg there will also be additional investment in new technology for wide bandgap semiconductor manufacturing. New product development will be supported with a commitment to an increased R&D investment to approximately 9 % of total sales. Nexperia recently opened new global R&D centers in Penang in Malaysia and Shanghai in China and expanded the existing R&D sites in Hong Kong, Hamburg and Manchester. The company will also enhance test and assembly capabilities at factories in Guangdong in China, Seremban in Malaysia and Cabuyao in the Philippines, including the implementation of advanced automation and system-in-package (SIP) capabilities. “Increased vehicle electrification, 5G communications, Industry 4.0 and the mainstream adoption of GaN-based designs will all drive increased demand for power semiconductors in 2021 and beyond. Since we ship more than 90 billion units annually, the additional global investment will ensure that we continue to provide the technology and manufacturing capacity needed to deliver products in volumes that support future demand,” said CEO Achim Kempe. “Since Wingtech’s acquisition of Nexperia in 2019 we have committed to ongoing investment to support ambitious growth plans and capitalize on the synergies between the two businesses. Followig and Shanghai we are continuing with investments that support our growth across the globe,” added Xuezheng Zhang (Wing), CEO of Wingtech and Nexperia. www.nexperia.com/about Nexperia Increases Global Power Semiconductor Production and R&D