20 APEC 2026 REVIEW Issue 2 2026 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com The APEC 2026 conference in San Antonio, Texas (March 22–26) highlighted rapid advancements in AI data centre power, Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductors (GaN/SiC), and passive component trends. The event, featuring record participation, showcased 800VDC power delivery to GPUs and SiC modules up to 3.3kV. Key Trends & Technical Takeaways AI Data Centre Power: A major focus was on moving 800VDC closer to GPUs for higher efficiency, with companies like Navitas presenting 5th-gen GaN/SiC technology for better thermal efficiency in high-power applications. Wide Bandgap (WBG) Dominance: GaN and SiC continue to replace silicon in high-efficiency applications, moving from adoption to optimisation. Passive Components Evolution: The shift toward higher frequency and density necessitates advanced,, smaller passive components, increasing demand for specialised magnetics and capacitors. Technical Sessions: Key discussions covered transient mitigation techniques like Z-Axis Power Delivery (ZPD) and Trans-Inductor Voltage Regulators (TLVR). Highlights Record Participation: The event featured over 1,200 submitted digests and a packed exhibit hall with 263 exhibitors. Student Focus: The 2026 conference introduced a Student Demonstration Competition alongside traditional job fairs and mentorship programs. Interactive Learning: Attendees highlighted the value of technical sessions and n- etworking opportunities. APEC 2026 reinforced several core themes: relentless pressure for higher efficiency, higher power density, smaller solution size, and simpler designin. Device vendors showcased GaN and SiC switches, integrated power stages, and new control ICs targeting AI data centres, EV onboard chargers, robotics, industrial automation, and highend appliances. Bidirectional switch concepts, in particular, were highlighted as a way to enable new topologies such as matrix converters and singlestage ACDC architectures. For passive components, these systemlevel themes translate into: Higher switching frequencies, which reduce magnetic size but demand lowloss cores and lower parasitics. Higher bus voltages (400–800 V and beyond) and more bidirectional energy flow, which change stress profiles on capacitors and magnetics. Tighter EMI and functionalsafety requirements, pushing more sophisticated filtering, isolation and surge protection components into every design
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=