There are several challenges and hurdles facing battery energy storage systems of the future. In his PCIM Europe keynote, Dr. Ahmed Elasser highlights how these challenges could be addressed to facilitate further development and deployment.

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced today a new automotive intelligent power device that will safely and flexibly control power distribution within vehicles, addressing the requirements of next-generation E/E (electrical/electronic) architectures.

With WE-BMS, Würth Elektronik presents signal transformers for battery management systems which, thanks to their galvanic isolation of 4300 VDC/1 min and high operating voltage of up to 1000 VDC, are ideal for use in energy storage systems, E-bikes or E-scooters. The new components of the WE-BMS series also contain at least one common-mode choke for filtering common-mode interference.

The next big thing is just around the corner! At least it always feels that way with IoT security. As quickly as you might catch up with the latest and greatest gadget, the next version is already announced. When it comes to traditional infrastructure, it is too costly to replace every time technology advances. But this doesn’t mean technology has no impact.

Lithium-ion battery degradation is a big problem for increasingly complex modern applications that have higher and more complex power demands. Now, a joint American research team reckons that, with further research, it has found a way to create electrodes that can resist oxygen degradation.

ZF has developed an electric motor which does not require magnets. In contrast to the magnet-free concepts of so-called separately excited synchronous motors (SESM), ZF’s I2SM (In-Rotor Inductive-Excited Synchronous Motor) transmits the energy for the magnetic field via an inductive exciter inside the rotor shaft. This makes the motor uniquely compact with maximum power and torque density.

Gallium nitride (GaN) transistors are very quickly proliferating the power electronics industry and are a popular substitute in their own right for silicon-based FETs because of characteristics such as high electron mobility. In addition, GaN transistors are used in more applications such as power chargers, automobiles, and audio amplifiers.

Diamonds are promising materials for the semiconductor industry, but slicing them into thin wafers is challenging. In a recent study, a research team from Chiba University developed a novel laser-based technique for effortlessly slicing diamonds along the optimal crystallographic plane. Their findings will help make diamonds cost-effective semiconductors for highly efficient power conversion in electric vehicles and for high-speed communication technologies.

Recent research at the Chemnitz University of Technology exploring the density of states has found that energetic disorder increases deeper into the bandgap, transforming our understanding of charge transport in organic solar cells.

Power Integrations’ latest IC, the InnoSwitchTM3-AQ, targets automotive EV applications such as battery management, on-board charging, and energy management.