TECHNOLOGIES TO HARNESS WIND POWER FOR NET ZERO Support from sea to shore ISSUE 3 – September 2023 www.power-mag.com Also inside this issue Market News | Industry News Power Bank Charging | SiC in Aerospace Solar Power | Networking | Product Update Web Locator
it’s the HUMIDITY If it’s not the Heat, cde.com/harsh-environments At 85°C and 85% relative humidity, with rated voltage applied, our new inverter-grade film capacitors are tested 50% longer than the industry standard requirements for Temperature-Humidity-Bias. Improve the reliability of your power electronics design with outstanding capacitor performance at high humidity. Meet the 1,500-hour THB-rated ALH/BLH capacitors 1,500 HOURS 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 85°C 85°C 85%RH 85°C 85%RH 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 85°C 85%RH 1,500 HOURS 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 85°C 85°C 85%RH 85°C 85%RH 1,500 Hours 1,500 Hours 85°C 85%RH AEC-Q200
CONTENTS www.power-mag.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe 3 News and Features Editor Caroline Hayes Tel: +44 (0)7730 884462 Email: caroline@dfamedia.co.uk Publisher & UK Sales Ian Atkinson Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Email: ian@dfamedia.co.uk www.power-mag.com Production Editor Chris Davis Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Email: chris@dfamedia.co.uk Financial Manager Joanne Morgan Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Email: accounts@dfamedia.co.uk Reader/Circulation Enquiries Perception Tel: +44 (0) 1825 701520 Email: dfamedia@dmags.co.uk INTERNATIONAL SALES OFFICES Mainland Europe: Victoria Hufmann Norbert Hufmann Tel: +49 911 9397 643 Fax: +49 911 9397 6459 Email: pee@hufmann.info Eastern US Ian Atkinson Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Email: ian@dfamedia.co.uk Western US and Canada Ian Atkinson Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340 Email: ian@dfamedia.co.uk Japan: Yoshinori Ikeda, Pacific Business Inc Tel: 81-(0)3-3661-6138 Fax: 81-(0)3-3661-6139 Email: pbi2010@gol.com Taiwan Prisco Ind. Service Corp. Tel: 886 2 2322 5266 Fax: 886 2 2322 2205 Circulation and subscription: Power Electronics Europe is available for the following subscription charges. Power Electronics Europe: annual charge UK/NI £95, overseas $160, EUR 150. Contact: DFA Manufacturing Media, 192 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BE Great Britain. Tel: +44 (0)1732 370340. Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will only be provided at the Publisher’s discretion, unless specifically guaranteed within the terms of subscription offer. Editorial information should be sent to The Editor, Power Electronics Europe, 192 High Street, Tonbridge TN9 1BE U.K. The contents of Power Electronics Europe are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. Printed by: Warners. ISSN 1748-3530 PAGE 4 Market News PEE looks at the latest Market News and company developments PAGE 8 Industry News PAGE 12 Prototype to practice power charging Is it possible to prototype a power bank charger application without building dedicated hardware? Yes! An application can be developed using existing evaluation boards. This articles discusses some of the challenges and outlines some recommendations for revisions and improvements. Diarmuid Carey, Staff Applications Engineer, Central Applications, Analog Devices PAGE 16 SiC soars to meet demand for small, lightweight power solutions Using SiC can improve both efficiency and reliability of aerospace applications. As the industry strives for lightweight, compact, high density efficient power, SiC is being propelled into the spotlight. Alain Calmels, Design Engineer, Microchip Technology PAGE 20 Ecofriendly choices shine through for clean energy As the world moves towards making more eco-friendly responsible choices, the demand for sustainable and renewable energy has driven consistent high growth in the solar inverter market. By Panasonic Industry PAGE 24 IoT call for a different approach to backup circuitry design Two backup options are compared and new backup circuitry is proposed to meet a 15ms holdup time for a 12V/60W flyback converter with a 9V to 60V wide input range. By Tiger Zhou, Applications Engineer Battery Charging Products, Texas Instruments PAGE 27 Products PAGE 30 Web Locator Technologies to harness wind power for net zero The offshore wind industry has a major role to play in reducing carbon emissions, but the industry faces a number of challenges. ABB Energy Industries discusses some technology developments which are being increasingly used to tackle these for a reliable sustainable renewable source. More details on page 9. FEATURE STORY
4 MARKET NEWS Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com Infineon invests €5billion in “world’s largest 200mm SiC power fab” The company is staking its claim in the role of SiC in wide bandgap materials for decarbonisation with expansion plans for a Malaysian fab. The Kulim fab, built in February 2022, will be expanded in the second phase of development announced last month. The planned expansion, depicted in the artist’s rendering, is backed by customer commitments covering about €5billion worth of new design wins in automotive and industrial applications as well as about €1billion in pre-payments. The planned expansion is backed by customer commitments covering about €5billion of new design wins in automotive and industrial applications as well as about €1billion in prepayments. Infineon says it expects the 200mm SiC power fab will lead to a total revenue potential of more over €7billion by 2030 with the planned 200mm SiC conversion of Villach and Kulim. The company has announced a SiC market share target of 30% towards the end of the decade. Infineon is confident that the company’s SiC revenue in the fiscal year 2025 will come in ahead of the target of €1billion. Infineon has been awarded new design wins of about €5billion and around €1billion in prepayments from existing and new customers, including six automotive OEMs, three of which are from China and include Ford, SAIC and Chery. Renewable energies customers include SolarEdge and three Chinese photovoltaic and energy storage systems companies. In addition, Infineon and Schneider Electric agreed on a capacity reservation including prepayments for power products based on silicon and SiC. The Right Honourable Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, comments: “Malaysia is putting in maximum efforts to meet its national target to decarbonise its economy and achieve net zero by 2050. Malaysia’s continued appeal as a preferred investment destination comes with a well-established landscape for developing innovative and sustainable technologies”. Infineon adds that sustainability is a key element in the planning, construction and operation of the fab, which is designed to make responsible use of resources such as electricity and water. www.infineon.com The Kraken Technology Group, a design and engineering company for maritime security, has partnered with powertrain and electronics engineering company, Cosworth to develop advanced batteries for Kraken’s littoral defence and security range. Initially, the development will focus on the Kraken Manta range (pictured) of autonomous, uncrewed surface, sub-surface vessels designed for ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) missions. In 2018, Kraken’s electric propulsion technology broke the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique) Outright Maritime Electric Speed World Record with an average speed of 88.61mph (142kph) at Coniston Water in the UK’s Lake District. Simon Dowson, Cosworth Managing Director, High Performance Battery Systems, comments: “The alternative propulsion arm of Cosworth has been developing high performance batteries for well over a decade. We believe that partnering with Kraken is a perfect showcase of our capabilities in boundary pushing applications such as the advanced vessels for which Kraken is known. The learnings from this partnership will also prove to be essential for our marine offering moving forward.” Kraken develops and manufactures composite materials, prototype vessels, autonomous technologies and advanced powering solutions for maritime, defence and security industries. Cosworth is a British engineering company, specialising in powertrain development, electronics and alternative propulsion solutions (hybrid or EV) as well as data connectivity and automation technology for the automotive, marine and aerospace sectors. https://www.cosworth.com Kraken and Cosworth partnership has lift-off for battery development
Buy your ticket now! productronica.com/ticket co-located event Accelerating Your Innovation.
Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com 6 MARKET NEWS The xEV power converter market is growing substantially according to the latest research by analyst, Yole Group. It reports that the market value for power converters will reach US$146.1 billion by 2028, with an 8.7% CAGR between 2022 and 2028. In 2022, the industrial motor segment represented the largest power converter market but the xEV power converter segment is growing substantially and is expected to become the third largest market by 2028. Driven by the worldwide transition to renewable energy sources, such as solar PV and wind power, there is a growing need for power converters that can convert energy from these sources efficiently and easier their integration with the electricity grid. China dominates in most end markets, particularly in converter suppliers and the ultimate target is increasing power density. Hassan Cheaito, PhD.Technology & Market Analyst at Yole Intelligence, commented: “Power converters for battery energy storage systems will feature the fastest growth in the coming five years, with a 2022-2028 CAGR of 30.3%”. Dr. Milan Rosina, PhD. Principal Analyst for the power electronics and battery division, added: “Automotive OEMs are increasingly involved in converter manufacturing to save costs and are leveraging their vertical integration”. Yole Intelligence’s report highlights China’s dominant position in most end markets analysed, particularly in converter supply for xEV, wind and PV converter markets. This increase is attributed to the large domestic market for end systems (wind turbines, electric vehicles and PV inverters), the competitive advantage in terms of cost compared to regions like the USA and Europe and the dominant position regarding the supply and the cost of raw materials. This has spurred innovation and alternative business approaches from nonChinese players. There has also been consolidation of the supply chain for high power converters, with the supply chain more secured compared to the one dedicated to low power solutions. One trend in terms of vertical integration is that automotive OEMs are increasingly involved in converter manufacturing. OEMs and Tier 1s are moving towards manufacturing power modules and, in some cases, even power device bare dies, particularly in the xEV segment, where power modules and traction inverters play a crucial role in achieving technological differentiation. A second shift is the move from solely system manufacturing and sales towards service-oriented businesses, with services such as project consulting, operation and maintenance. This trend is particularly noticeable in established markets with a significant number of existing installations, such as rail, wind, and PV. It is also present in relatively new segments like BESS (battery energy storage systems) and EV DC chargers. http://www.yolegroup.com. High hopes for converter renewable energy and electrification Rohm opens up the Solar Frontier in Japan as a main production base Rohm has agreed the acquisition of the Solar Frontier plant in Kunitomi, Japan and with it comes an expansion of its production facilities. The Kunitomi site is approximately 400,000m2 with a total floor area of approximately 230,000m2 and will be one of the Rohm Group’s main production bases. “This acquisition enables a fast production expansion by utilising existing infrastructure. This way, Rohm will continue to quickly and reliably supply its customers,” says Wolfram Harnack, President at Rohm Semiconductor Europe. The company has scheduled operation at the plant for the end of 2024. Commenting on the move, the company said that semiconductors are increasingly important in achieving a decarbonised society. Both automotive and industrial equipment markets are undergoing technological innovation, such as electrification, in order to reduce environmental impact and achieve carbon neutrality, explains Rohm. With this, the demand is increasing especially for power and analogue semiconductors. The company also says as further expansion of the semiconductor market is expected, the Rohm Group intends to expand its production capacity continuously, particularly for SiC power devices, and ensure a stable supply to customers The acquisition is scheduled to take place in October 2023. www.rohm.com
7 www.power-mag.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe MARKET NEWS Written by Luke Gear, principal technology analyst, the report looks into EV power electronics and the evolving semiconductor and package materials industry. It includes data on Si, SiC and GaN semiconductors, die-attach materials, wire bonding and thermal management. It also includes granular forecasts detailing unit sales, GW and US$ demand for inverters, onboard chargers (OBC) and DC/DC converters segmented by voltage (600V, 1200V) and semiconductor type (Si, SiC, GaN). SiC improves powertrain efficiency (EV range), operates at higher voltages for faster charging, and creates new materials opportunities, such as Ag or Cu sintering, as power densities and operational temperatures increase. SiC MOSFETs will feature in EV production in the next 10 years, says the report. The IDTechEx report “” provides a deep-dive into EV power electronics with technology insights into the evolving semiconductor and package materials, including Si, SiC and GaN semiconductors, die-attach materials, wire bonding, thermal management, and more. IDTechEx presents Infineon and ST Microelectronics both supply automotive power semiconductors, and both expanded major OEM partnerships recently. Infineon has a deal to supply Stellantis’ Tier 1 partners from 2025, potentially worth over one billion euros. Infineon also has a ten-year supply deal with VW, supplies into Hyundai’s 800V E-GMP platform, and has a historic relationship with BMW for the original i3, as well as Renault. STMicroelectronics has a major supply relationship with Tesla which commands around 14% market share of all BEV PHEV cars sold globally in 2022 according to the “Electric Cars 2023-2043” report from IDTechEx. the company has recently developed ACEPACK SiC modules as drop-in modules, which will help expand its customer base. It is also expanding production capacity in Italy and Hyundai has already chosen to use the modules in upcoming E-GMP models. SiC adoption is gathering pace as other players release products, such as onsemi’s EliteSiC SiC MOSFETs. It will supply VW and Hyundai. Tier 1 Borgwarner announced it would invest US$500 million in Wolfspeed, with Wolfspeed supplying SiC semiconductors to future Mercedes-Benz models and JLR’s next generation of electric cars from 2024. It is not all fast-paced acceleration, however. Tesla announced it was aiming for a 75% reduction in SiC utilisation for the cyber truck and future model releases. IDTechEx expects all Tesla’s vehicles will continue to use SiC MOSFETs in most of their power electronics, however. It was Tesla’s 2018 Model 3 whic introduced SiC MOSFETs to the automotive sector at scale. The inverter design currently in use across Tesla’s line-up is similar to this original inverter. IDTechEx expects that the announced reduction is being driven by smaller and more advanced SiC chips reaching commercialisation at a time when five years of real-world experience and understanding of SiC chip thermal management comes to fruitiion. It is also likely that Tesla’s initial SiC inverter design was optimised for redundancy - extra chips - with the design now being optimised for cost and efficiency. IDTechEx predicts a 27% CAGR for the period 2023 to 2033 for 600V to 1200V SiC MOSFETs in inverters, allowing the technology to capture more than half the market. MOSFET’s mixed fortunes Ferraz Shawmut | Eldre | Idealec | FTCAP COOLING AND BUS BAR SOLUTIONS POWER CAPACITOR HIGH SPEED FUSES POWER STACK EVALUATION KIT YOUR NEEDS ARE COVERED EP.MERSEN.COM 10907 MERSEN AP Cooling & Bus bar solutions 86x124 2023.indd 1 2/14/23 8:33 AM To receive your own copy of subscribe today at: www.power-mag.com
8 INDUSTRY NEWS Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com The proprietary doping method enables Li-ion capacitors (LiCs) to be manufactured at lower cost with generally available materials and equipment which are used for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, says the company. At the same time, it enables the design and manufacture of capacitors with increased capacity and improved I/O performance. Asahi Kasei developed a low-cost, pre-doping method using inexpensive lithium carbonate as the source of lithium ions, eliminating the need for perforated foil and lithium metal foil. Lithium carbonate is included in the cathode and pre-doping is performed at initial charging, when nearly all of the lithium carbonate decomposes, and lithium ions transfer to the anode. This allows the manufacture of LiCs using materials and equipment similar to those used in the manufacture of Li-ion batteries (LiBs), but also enables capacity and I/O performance to be raised by a factor of 1.3 or more (compared to Asahi Kasei’s conventional LiCs). The licensing includes Asahi Kasei’s IP (intellectual property) related to LiC technology, but also technical expertise such as cell design and manufacturing with pilot equipment. Asahi Kasei expects to support licensees around the world to significantly reduce LiC development times and achieve low-cost LiC manufacture using existing equipment. The LiC is a next generation energy storage device that uses the same material as an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) for the cathode and the same material used as a LiB for the anode. As LiCs have higher I/O characteristics than LiBs, they are suitable for where instantaneous power is needed, and can be quickly recharged. The long cycle life and high safety LiCs are expected to be used in mobility applications such as electric trams and buses to charge at each stop instead of using power from overhead lines. In the growing field of energy storage systems for renewable energy such as solar and wind, it is possible to extend the service life of LiBs by using with the LiCs to reduce the LiB charge/discharge load. The company says this is expected to reduce both running costs and environmental impact through less frequent replacement of LiBs, generating less waste. The conventional LiC manufacturing process requires expensive materials for pre-doping, such as perforated foil and lithium metal foil. In addition, lithium metal is highly reactive and hazardous, which incurs additional costs to maintain a safe working environment. Asahi Kasei licenses doping method for improved Li-ion capacitor performance The two compnaies have signed a long-term supply agreement for Magna to integrate onsemi’s EliteSiC intelligent power solutions into its eDrive systems. According to Magna, integrating onsemi’s EliteSiC technology will offer better cooling performance and faster acceleration and charging rates to improve efficiency and increase the range of electric vehicles (EVs). onsemi’s end-to-end SiC manufacturing capability and ability to ramp production quickly, improves Magna’s vertical integration and simplifies Magna supply chain, added the company. Asif Jakwani, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Advanced Power Division, onsemi, said the latest EliteSiC MOSFET technology enables increased power density and higher efficiency in traction inverters to incease range “without compromising driving dynamics and safety”. Magna will also invest approximately $40 million for new SiC equipment at onsemi’s New Hampshire and Czech Republic facilities. Although SiC is a proven substrate for high temperature, high power applications such as EVs, it is difficult to produce and there are only a limited number of manufacturers, leaving OEMs and automotive suppliers increasingly looking to secure a long-term, reliable supply. “As the electric vehicle market continues to grow, we are taking proactive steps to secure Diba Ilunga. Magna and onsemi agree SiC investment to secure long term supply
www.abb.com WIND POWER 9 www.power-mag.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe Technologies to harness wind power for net zero The offshore wind industry has a major role to play in reducing carbon emissions, but the industry faces a number of challenges. ABB Energy Industries discusses some technology developments which are being increasingly used to tackle these for a reliable sustainable renewable source. A combination of environmental, economic, and geopolitical factors is leading many countries to consider new forms of power generation. Combined with a growing awareness of the need for energy security and greater sustainability, there is a steadily increasing shift towards renewable sources as a means of providing the power needed for everyday life. One such source is wind power. The world’s second biggest renewable energy source after hydropower, wind power accounted for over 6% of global electricity generation in 2022, providing 837 GW of global capacity. That same year saw an extra 77.6 GW of capacity added. This is projected to rise as more countries strive towards achieving net zero carbon emissions. A sector of the industry that has seen considerable growth has been offshore wind. Since the first units were introduced in 1991, improved performance combined with lower technology costs have seen a massive growth offshore turbine projects. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) estimates that the global market for offshore wind grew by almost 22% per year between 2010 and 2020, while an additional 235 GW of new capacity is expected by 20302. Tackling the challenges of wind Although wind offers significant opportunities for improving both environmental performance and reducing reliance on fossil fuels, companies hoping to harness its full potential face some key challenges. The first is wind’s intermittent nature. Variability in wind conditions and the inherent unpredictability of seasonal weather means that turbines may be operating at peak efficiency when there is less demand or at low efficiency when there is high demand. Periods with low wind speeds will mean that the power from offshore turbines will need to be supplemented by other energy sources. The challenge is to find ways to maximise output and match demand, while also reducing capital investment in the construction of the windfarm and infrastructure, as well as the facility’s operating costs. A number of technologies are helping operators meet these challenges. Improvements in offshore turbine design, including both efficiency and size and the availability of floating designs that enable Figure 1: Using subsea power distribution and conversion technology from the oil and gas industry is helping address the cost and practicality challenges involved in transmitting power from wind turbines back to shore.
10 WIND POWER www.abb.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com wind farms to be situated further offshore to take advantage of higher quality wind conditions, are helping achieve steady increases in capacity of 40 to 50% and more. This improved efficiency is seeing offshore turbines exceeding the capacity performance of other renewables such as onshore wind and solar power. Developments in energy storage are also helping to provide added stability. Various technologies can be used, including batteries and thermal storage. Other concepts include bladders on the seabed. Here, excess power is used to pump water from underground reservoirs into the bladders. When demand for power rises, water from the bladders is routed through hydro turbines to generate electricity. Another technique is to use power from wind to help produce hydrogen, a low carbon power source that can be used widely for anything from electric vehicles and shipping through to heavy industries. With around 70 million tonnes of hydrogen currently produced using fossil fuels, offshore wind offers huge potential to make significant savings in CO2 emissions. Yet another challenge is how to get the power produced from the turbine back to shore efficiently. Depending on the distance involved, this has been achieved using either HVAC or HVDC connections. For both techniques, subsea power distribution and conversion technology originally developed for the oil and gas industry have substantially reduced the cost and eased the practicalities of transmission. By eliminating the need for surface infrastructure, this technology is opening new opportunities for transmitting power over long distances whilst simultaneously reducing emissions. It also offers scope for improved control and operation through digitalisation and the use of remote monitoring. Other techniques are also becoming increasingly viable, including floating substations that share design and assembly ideas from the buoyant platform structures being deployed for floating offshore wind turbines. Matching supply to demand As more offshore wind farms come online, there is a growing requirement for the people and facilities needed to deliver and maintain them. The high initial capital costs involved in building sea-based wind farms and their associated transmission networks means there are currently a limited number of operators in the market with the ability and resources to build, operate and maintain large scale wind farms. Engineering resources are becoming increasingly stretched as more wind farm programmes get underway. Companies across the power generation value chain, from operators through to suppliers, have had to find ways to make best use of existing resources. This can mean using tools to help get more out of available engineering hours. One of the key tools is remote operation, which allows operators to understand what is happening and then using the data to make decisions to improve performance. Advances in smart digital technology are delivering expanded possibilities for remote and unmanned assets. As well as making them easier and more efficient to deploy and operate, they increase the speed and quality of information sharing, allowing better decision making and faster rollout of modifications. Getting practical data from remote assets is important for safe functioning of remote assets – the greater autonomy made possible by digitalisation also reduces the need for manpower at the asset sites. Do more with less Digitalisation allows engineers to do more whilst making better use of available time. Some of the tasks made easier include condition monitoring, fault tracing, incident handling, cybersecurity patching and modifications. Many maintenance and inspection tasks, for example, can now be performed remotely. These can be done either via real-time control and communications networks or using technologies such as drones to inspect components at height or in otherwise hard to reach areas. Developments in predictive maintenance technologies especially are also helping to improve turbine performance. Identifying problems in advance allows operators to decide how best to rectify them, either deploying engineers to the turbine or, if possible, applying the fix remotely. Digital simulation has also helped to reduce a lot of the work involved in planning new offshore installations. These tools can allow operators to assess turbine performance and potential electrical output before installation. By testing a turbine installation under multiple conditions, operators can use the data produced to help develop the best real-world solution, reducing risks and speeding up deployment. Partnerships in power Another way to address the limitations of the available skills base is to work in partnership with other players in the supply chain. This approach offers several advantages. Foremost amongst these is the exchange of new ideas. For example, ABB has an extensive portfolio of electrical solutions and has developed expertise from delivering hundreds of offshore applications, including projects located in some of the world’s harshest waters. This means it can offer new perspectives on meeting many of the challenges inherent in offshore wind projects. As an example, its experience gained in building subsea transformers for oil and gas since the 1990s is now being used to provide the building blocks for subsea networks that collect, convert, and distribute power from floating wind turbines. This expertise can be used to create networks that can help to ensure grids can meet peak demand whilst also delivering peak reliability by finding ways to supplement wind power during periods of low demand. Experience can also be used from a supplier’s involvement in other Figure 2: Increasing numbers of offshore windfarms coming online require people and facilities to deliver and maintain them.
www.abb.com WIND POWER 11 www.power-mag.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe forms of energy generation and distribution, such as hydrogen production, storage and transmission projects. This makes it well placed to advise operators on how to supplement generation networks using alternative power sources that are powered by offshore wind. The same advances in digital maintenance technologies can also be used to help deliver remote service and support. This can range from digital simulation through to augmented reality tools that can be used by engineers to remotely guide colleagues on site to resolve problems. The growing convergence between information (IT) and operational (OT) technologies allows new opportunities for collaboration. The huge variety of data from equipment, processes, plants and business systems can be integrated and shared between the different parties involved in building, running and maintaining offshore wind farms. By sharing information about operational status and asset performance, including analysing varying performance between different wind assets and wind farms, allows better decision-making within the operating company. Sharing performance information among the vendors in the wind generator industry also allows new equipment and techniques to be developed that can benefit everyone. Maximising potential The growing need for affordable low carbon technologies will see all forms of renewable power being used to supplement and eventually replace fossilfuel based power generation. The potential of offshore wind as an effective power source has increasingly been recognised as technology has advanced and ways have been found to tackle issues such as variability and intermittency. As the industry addresses issues through continued developments in electrical system design, offshore wind will increasingly take its place as a major enabler of the global transition from fossil fuels to renewable power. Figure 3: Improvements in offshore turbine design, in relation to size and efficiency and the availability of floating designs, enable wind farms to be situated further offshore to take advantage of higher quality wind conditions. Direct
12 CHARGING TECHNOLOGY www.analog.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com Prototype a power bank charger without hardware headaches Is it possible to prototype a power bank charger application without building dedicated hardware? Diarmuid Carey, Staff Applications Engineer, Central Applications, Analog Devices The short answer to this question is yes. This article will review the process involved in developing an application using existing evaluation boards, discuss the challenges encountered and outline some recommendations for further revisions and improvements. Ideally, any power supply design should start with some basic proof of concept tests, which often involve testing an existing demo board. This demo simply takes this pre-existing step (of testing single rails on the demo hardware) and expands on it to produce a working system using demo hardware. As this demo was needed within a relatively short time frame, the typical development process of design, layout, build, assemble, and test (plus any design iteration) was not possible, so the system was prototyped in its entirety using nothing but readily available hardware. Application It was necessary to choose a high level application as a starting point to prove it is possible to prototype a power bank charger application without building dedicated hardware. This led to the power bank charging application being selected as a proof of concept. As power management is a prerequisite for every electronic project, any other application could have been selected. A power bank charger is a common application, which most consumers have encountered and used. For example, many travellers carry one to ensure their phone remains charged over a long journey. A power bank is essentially a battery pack (capacity varies depending on the price and range required), with one or more USB-A ports as well as a USB-C input port to charge it. It is possible of course to layer additional complexity on top of this basic functionality. For example, the addition of a wireless charging pad or an input to allow solar charging of the bank for outdoor enthusiasts. For this application, the option to charge the battery via solar or to charge via a DC input from a standard 12V AC/DC wall wart was included. The outputs included some basic USB-A charging ports (two in total), producing 5V for use with mobile phones and a range of USB-powered electronics. Hardware selection In this example, the design will support two input power sources (a solar panel and an AC/DC wall wart, which is just a simple AC/DC power supply). For this reason, a clever device called a power path prioritiser is required not only to intelligently switch between the available sources depending on which was available but also to manage the situation where they both were available by assigning priority to one source or the other. A simple version of this implementation can be achieved by using some simple diodes, commonly connecting the two cathodes of the diodes and connecting the anodes to their respective sources. Unfortunately, this particular configuration is lossy due to the diode drop inherent in a typical diode (approximately 0.6V), but it also doesn’t allow for any clever selection criteria to be Table 1: Modes of Operation from the LTC4416 datasheet !V' %67284:3>'_3F7' ,+P%@@QU',+P%@@QV' U' Z' /38F'A<82:>=' !>8BC7F' !>8BC7F' U' ?7>A7' WU':A'C7AA'4<8>'WV' !>8BC7F' ?7>A7' Z' WU':A'=278472'4<8>' WV' !>8BC7F' Z' R' (<8>>7C'U'F:A8BC7F'' 03'>34'EA7' 0:A8BC7F' R' U' (<8>>7C'V'F:A8BC7F' 03'>34'EA7' 0:A8BC7F' Z' U' #34<'9<8>>7CA' F:A8BC7F' 0:A8BC7F' 0:A8BC7F' Figure 1: An LTC4416 typical application circuit.
www.analog.com CHARGING TECHNOLOGY 13 www.power-mag.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe implemented, for example, priority selection. It simply allows the higher potential input to pass through. The LTC4416 not only replaces the lossy diodes with PFETs, which are far more efficient, but also allows for priority to be assigned. In this particular application, priority will always be assigned to the wall wart. This allows the design to take advantage of the available power (and extract telemetry information. It was selected for this particular application not only because of flexibility on the input and battery voltage but also because of the integrated nature, which helps to keep the solution size to a minimum. Another useful feature is maximum power point tracking (MPPT). If solar is one of the possible input sources for a design, MPPT is a must to ensure the design extracts as much input range, dual USB power charger. It was developed for use in emergencies such as natural disasters or extended power outages. An example power source that many would have available to them is a car battery. This board can be powered by a car battery to provide two 5V ports, which are isolated from the primary voltage for safety. There is a range of alternative power sources that you may have available from stacks of loose batteries to motors to act as a simple generator. The CN0509 has a wide input voltage range so it will be able to run from any supply in the range of 5V to 100V to pair up with the existing boards to provide the USB charging outputs required for the power bank charger. Protection features Reverse polarity protection is included to protect the circuit from an incorrectly connected supply and an isolated flyback converter is utilised to isolate the charger outputs from the input source. This is particularly useful if a -48V communication back up supply is used as a power source. This can result in a phone being charged Figure 2: An LTC4162-L typical application circuit. Figure 3: A CN0509 application circuit. higher current) when it is available. This device is exceptionally flexible, with many operational modes possible depending on the design requirements. Table 1 (sourced from the LTC4416 data sheet) displays the modes of operation. Battery charger For the battery charger, the LTC4162-L was selected due to its wide input voltage range (up to 35V) and 3.2A charging capability, as well as the integrated FET design, which results in a small solution size. This is a commonly used charger IC which has great application flexibility as it comes in many battery chemistry variants such as LiFePO4, Li-Ion, lead acid as well as an I2C interface to allow the user to available power as possible. The LTC4162 also has a built-in power path control that is useful in this application when the input source is removed, allowing the provision of the battery voltage to the output terminals for use downstream. The board selected to provide the USB charging voltage for the connected device is from Analog Devices’ Circuits from the Lab collection of reference designs and solutions. Typically, a single device is shown on an evaluation board to evaluate a specific device. Circuits from the Lab’s boards make use of several Analog Devices’ products from different product portfolios to solve a particular system requirement. The CN0509 was designed to be a wide to -48V and creating a hazardous situation. Isolated conversion prevents this from occurring. Another note here is that the CN0509 board is quite small, largely due to the highly efficient ICs selected and the no-opto flyback LT8302. A key differentiation is that the flyback converter LT8302 does not need an isolated optical feedback path. There are two USB ports on this particular board: one is a standard USB port (without D+/D- connected) and the other port has a DCP controller to monitor the USB data line voltages so that it can enable fast charging and provide 5V at 2A max. Achieving this higher level of charge current is dependent on the input voltage utilised, 12V is optimal based on the
14 CHARGING TECHNOLOGY www.analog.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com performance graph shown in Figure 4. Power sources The primary power source selected was a 60W AC/DC 12V adapter. This served as one input to the LTC4416 demo board, and a relatively small solar panel was purchased to provide an alternative input source. It should be noted that this project was to be used at an indoor event without sufficient lighting available to provide a reasonable level of available power to run from solar energy, therefore this feature was included simply to demonstrate the capability and functionality of the power path prioritiser. This design was developed to be a power bank and as such it would require a battery pack to act as the storage element. Shipping restrictions in relation to batteries are prohibitive. The demo was developed specifically so that a generic battery pack could be bought and inserted to run the demo on its arrival. Based on this limitation, a rechargeable two-series cell LiIon battery pack generating a nominal 7.4V with a 2600mAh capacity was selected to run the demo for the event. It is worth noting that a larger capacity battery could easily be installed here if required. Build details From a build perspective, the hardware was standard, so no electrical modifications were required beyond some adjustments of the LTC4416 thresholds to ensure the correct priority for the input power sources. In order to make it more visually appealing for the event, the boards were mounted on a simple black perspex sheet using some standard metal standoffs. The charge current that was being provided for the evening was monitored by a simple USB meter. This device visually represented how much current was available to charge the attendee’s phones (Figure 7). The demo performed its core function effectively. It comfortably charged the battery pack from two alternate sources, the handover between sources was managed well by the power path prioritiser and the CN0509 provided charge to the connected USB devices. This particular power bank has another useful feature that many power bank chargers do not have and that is the ability to simultaneously charge the battery pack and charge the connected USB device. Even a high end power bank may not charge a phone and the bank at the same time, which is a frustrating limitation. The charge current to the USB port is limited by the capability of the LTC4162 with its internal FET design providing a max of 3.2A, the bulk of the current is sent to the battery during charging. The remaining current can be used through the USB charger ports. Any time the input power source is removed, the power path FET on the LTC4162 demo board ensures that the battery power is redirected to the output port and hence maintains power to the CN0509 and USB ports. The available charge current in this mode drops as per the graph in Figure 4 since the input source to the CN0509 is now the battery voltage, which is a nominal 7.4V. Prototyping Once the application has been proven to work using some simple, readily available demo boards, the next reasonable step is to develop a product prototype that takes learnings from the initial prototype work and integrates this into the end solution. Part of this would be to modify the existing schematics from the boards used to remove the superfluous items (e.g., test points or connectors). Next is PCB development. While the demo board generally looks to be quite large in size, this is simply to aid the testability and usability of the device. Closer inspection of the board layout reveals that the IC for which the board was developed and the enabling circuitry (e.g., resistors, capacitors, inductor) are all designed into as small a space as possible to allow developers to bring this into their own layout. This will then provide confidence with a tested design, which can be verified on the bench before building their own version. For the end application, a larger capacity battery with a higher voltage would help to optimise the amount of charge current Figure 5: The power bank charger application tree. To receive your own copy of Power Electronics Europe subscribe today at: www.power-mag.com Figure 4: A CN0509 max charge current vs VIN.
www.analog.com CHARGING TECHNOLOGY 15 www.power-mag.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe provided to the USB ports. A more slimline version of the CN0509 could be used to reduce the overall battery bank cost. For example, the LTC7103 and input polarity protection circuitry would not be necessary for this design and the isolated flyback could be powered directly from the output of the LTC4162 (either 12V from the AC/DC wall wart or the battery voltage once mains power has been removed). Conclusion It is possible to prototype a power bank charger, or any other power supply design, using some readily available hardware and simple power sources. This highlights that using available demo board hardware can quickly provide a proof of concept for potential projects without spending much on development. Furthermore, this relatively small step will provide the user with confidence before committing to a more integrated design. Another point worth reiterating is that power supply design and, more specifically, the layout of a power design can be challenging so it is worth utilising the resources available to reduce the overall development time. Figure 6: A system diagram of the prototype. Figure 7: A functional demo system.
16 AEROSPACE www.microchip.com Issue 3 2023 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com SiC soars to meet demand for small, lightweight power solutions Using SiC can improve both efficiency and reliability of aerospace applications. As the industry strives for lightweight, compact, high density efficient power, SiC is being propelled into the spotlight. By Alain Calmels, Design Engineer, Microchip Technology As is the case in other strategic sectors of electronics, the aerospace industry is rapidly moving toward lightweight, small, high efficiency and high density power solutions. As a matter of fact, the new size, weight, power, and cost paradigm poses tough and stringent requirements to designers struggling to meet the market demand while at the same time providing high efficiency power solutions. Traditional inverters and DC/DC and DC/AC converters are proving inadequate or inefficient for the most critical and challenging applications, such as latest generation satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles or electric aircraft. To overcome these challenges, the approach to high density power modules proves to be an effective solution to deliver high reliability and power density as well as flexibility. An unprecedented boost to the aerospace power applications industry is coming from the third generation of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors. Silicon carbide (SiC) is moving the aerospace power supply to a new era, characterised by more efficient, smaller, lighter power solutions. SiC properties While SiC properties have been known since the end of the 19th century, it is relatively recently that this WBG material has been used as a semiconductor. Compared with traditional silicon-based power devices, SiC MOSFETs feature a high breakdown electrical field (3 to 5MV/cm, which is almost 10 times higher than that of silicon) and a bandgap about three time higher than that of silicon (3.26eV versus 1.11eV). Thermal management is also improved thanks to the thermal conductivity of SiC, which is nearly three times higher than silicon (4.9W/cmK versus 1.5W/cmK), and its specific resistance, which is much lower than silicon (0.3mΩ/cm2 versus 400mΩ/cm~ for a 1200V breakdown voltage at room temperature). The on-resistance, or RDS(on), of commercially available SiC power devices can be up to 400 times lower than that of an equivalent siliconbased device at the same breakdown voltage. Compared with silicon counterparts, SiC MOSFETs can operate at higher switching frequencies with less conduction and power losses, allowing for smaller passive components in power systems and more compact and lighter power solutions. This, in turn, has enabled the replacement of current IGBT devices with SiC MOSFETs in high-power, volume-constrained applications such as aeronautics. Aerospace applications The gate driver circuit for SiC MOSFETs requires a high positive gate drive voltage (about 20V) and, depending on the specific application, a negative “off” gate voltage in the -2-V to -6-V range (for dV/dt immunity and for achieving the fastest turnoff speed). Combined with low output capacitance and low RDS(on), that makes SiC devices attractive for switching designs such as power supplies, three-phase inverters, amplifiers and voltage converters (AC/DC and DC/DC). The use of SiC devices also allows significant cost savings and a reduction in the size of the magnetic parts (transformers and inductors) used in many aerospace power applications. In the aerospace industry, the concept of more electric aircraft (MEA) has become very popular. MEA aims to electrify auxiliary aircraft on-board systems, previously powered through mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic means for efficiency improvement, cost reduction and increased reliability. New power devices are being designed to meet MEA requirements, including AC and DC power systems, which need power electronic converters for operation. Several power conversion functions required by an MEA power system are performed by DC/AC converters, such as engine starting, control of pumps and generators and flight control actuators. To meet these challenging requirements, DC/AC converters with high power density and that can operate at high switching frequencies are needed. Efficiency is also a key factor, as it allows you to reduce both the size and weight of the converter, simplifying thermal management. Due to their reduced conduction and switching losses, SiC power devices are proposing themselves as a viable candidate to replace silicon-based IGBTs and MOSFETs in avionic power converters. Clean and sustainable aviation The aerospace industry is moving towards zero-emissions goals, developing new technologies able to reduce net greenhouse gas while promoting the usage of sustainable drop-in fuels. In Europe, the Clean Sky Consortium, a partnership between the European Commission and the European aeronautics industry, aims to develop cleaner air transport technologies capable of reducing CO2, NOx, and noise emissions. A similar initiative has been taken by the International Air Transport Association, which last October approved a resolution for the global air transport industry to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. To fulfill these challenging requirements, pneumatic and hydraulic control systems need to be progressively replaced with high efficiency electrical and electronic control systems. Higher efficiency is a key factor for reducing fuel consumption, weight, and size. Microchip Technology has introduced a series of AC/DC and DC/DC low profile, low weight power modules that provide higher power conversion efficiency through the utilisation of SiC. Capable of delivering from 100W to up to 20kW of power, they have been developed in collaboration with the European Clean Sky Consortium to meet new, demanding, clean requirements for the aviation industry. That includes compliance with RTCA DO-160G testing procedure (Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment, version G). A DO-160G–compliant device can deliver reliable and accurate operation in any flight condition. The modules (Figure 1) have a modified substrate, which results in a 40% reduction in weight and 10% in costs compared with standard solutions that incorporate metal baseplates and require a heatsink. In
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=