April/May 2021

Issue 2 2021 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com for the most efficient materials and solutions” said Riccardo De Filippi, Senior Vice President and CEO of Marelli Motorsport. “Our mission is to promote technological advancements that can first of all be decisive on racetracks, and at the same time enable next-generation technologies also for the road cars of tomorrow. Specifically, in the electric powertrain field, we can build on our strong experience as pioneers of cutting-edge solutions for F1 and Formula E, as well as early adopters of SiC technologies.” In March 2020, Marelli additionally announced a strategic partnership with Transphorm to collaborate on new GaN-based automotive/EV power conversion solutions including on-board chargers (OBCs), DC/DC converters and powertrain inverters for electric and hybrid vehicles. Dr. Joachim Fetzer, CEO, Electric Powertrain Marelli, commented, “Transphorm’s demonstration of achieving 10 kilowatts of power from a discrete packaged GaN device in a bridge configuration is further validation of the exciting promise of GaN for electric vehicle converters and inverters. As part of our previously announced partnership, we will continue to evaluate Transphorm’s industry leading GaN devices and work together in support of a multi-year EV systems product roadmap.” MARELLI is one of the leading global independent suppliers to the automotive sector. With around 60,000 employees worldwide, its footprint includes 170 facilities and R&D centers across Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa, generating revenues of 13.6 billion Euro in 2019. www.marelli.com DC EV Charging - A Decisive Outlook The total market value of power electronic devices for DC chargers will grow to around $350 million by 2026 at an annual growth rate of roughly 40 %, according to market researcher Yole. The total market value of power electronic devices for DC chargers will grow with a CAGR 2020-2026 of 21.5 %. “While low-power DC chargers, up to 20-30 kW, are commonly based on a monolithic design approach, the modular design is dominant in high- power chargers.”asserts Milan Rosina, Principal Analyst, Power Electronics and Batteries at Yole. “In the modular approach, a charger is built of several charger modules connected in parallel. The modular approach has advantages of high design flexibility, scalability, and availability.” As analyzed by Yole’s team in the new DC Charging for Plug-In Electric Vehicles 2021 report, discrete devices are suitable for both low-power monolithic chargers and high-power chargers based on low-power charger modules, and thus discrete devices dominate the DC EV market. However, with increasing charger power, the number of related low- power charger modules is increasing beyond optimal levels. For example, for a 350 kW charger about 12 30 kW charger modules will be needed. Charger module manufacturers are looking to improve their products’ power density, efficiency, and to increase their nominal power to 50 kW and beyond to make them more suitable for high-power chargers. “DC charger technology rapidly evolves, and many technology trends were identified and analyzed in this report. Two opposite trends exist regarding charger power. One is a power increase up to 350 kW and beyond in the future to accelerate charging and enable charging in heavy-mobility applications. The other is a power decrease from a historical base level of 50 kW as an alternative to AC charging solutions”, Rosina comments. Charger voltage follows the trends in EV battery packs. As battery voltage increases from 400 V to 800 V levels, driven by Porsche, Hyundai and other car makers, the charger voltage increases from 500 V to 1,000 V. This results in the chargers using power components rated at 1,200 V. Other trends include increasing use of SiC MOSFET devices, growing market share of power modules, bidirectional chargers for V2G and V2H applications, and battery energy storage to reduce peak loads on the electricity grid. Regulations and technologies for EVs, EV batteries and chargers evolve rapidly. This brings new opportunities or threats to the charging infrastructure companies such as ABB, Tritium and Tesla, but also to the companies involved in semiconductor and packaging materials, device packaging, industrial systems, EV/HEV and battery manufacturers, and utility companies. Technology or business model differentiation is difficult to identify currently. “We therefore expect the reshaping of the supply chain and business models to continue in the coming years. Partnerships are crucial to ensure the compatibility between vehicle and charger, and can provide some level of product differentiation”, said Abdoulaye Ly, Technology & Market Analyst. “One example is the network of 350 kW chargers operated by IONITY, backed by several leading car makers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Hyundai. Both car makers and utility companies have identified the opportunities in providing services to a large and rapidly growing portfolio of PHEV and BEV customers.” An increase of merger and acquisition activities is expected with charging infrastructure providers as main targets. High-power chargers, fast-charging batteries and efficient vehicle powertrains represent a threat to the companies involved in hydrogen infrastructure and fuel-cell vehicles such as Toyota and Honda, and might also close the opportunity window for companies involved in battery swap solutions like NIO and Aulton. “Strict CO2 targets will push EV/HEV share to 38 % of all passenger vehicles in 2026, representing a $5.6 billion market opportunity for various semiconductor technologies and power devices,” Ly concluded. Yole’s analysts invites our readers to join them at the PCIM Europe 2021 digital days. On May 4 Abdoulaye Ly, Technology & Market Analyst specialized in Electronic Power Systems, will present the “EV DC Chargers, a New Opportunity for Power Electronic Players”. Ana Villamor, PhD, Technology & Market Analyst, Power Electronics & Milan Rosina, PhD, Principal Analyst, Power Electronics and Batteries, will present “Battery, SiC, 800V…What else is needed by an Electric Vehicle Manufacturer to Differentiate from its Competitors?” On May 5 Shalu Agarwal, Technology & Market Analyst, Power Electronics & Materials will present “Power Module Packaging: Good enough Aspect is a New Target” at 2:00 pm during the Industry Forum. Registration under http://www.i- micronews.com/event/pcim-europe- 2021/?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=email&utm_ campaign=PR_DC_CHARGING_FOR_PLUG_IN_ELE CTRIC_VEHICLES_YOLE_April2021 www.yole.fr 8 MARKET NEWS