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Inaugural PowerUP Virtual Expo Convenes on June 16

June 17: WBG Semiconductors grating it into smart grids in order to fully exploit the flexibility of
Wide-bandgap semiconductor technologies provide implementation electric mobility while yielding a more stable energy system.
opportunities ranging from universal wireless charging to power Texas Instruments will deliver the opening paper, “Paving the Way
converters. With all sectors striving for higher efficiency, SiC and GaN for Next-Generation Systems.” As electrification and data connectiv-
power switches will help enable next-generation renewable power solu- ity needs continue to rise, it’s becoming clear that semiconductors
tions across many applications, such as data centers, renewable energy will play a key role in creating a better world by making electronics
for the green grid, and electric-vehicle (EV) chargers. more efficient and more affordable. However, consumers’ expecta-
Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) will deliver the opening talk, titled tions will also rise, and electronics and their resulting semiconductors
“Update from the Front Lines in GaN’s Assault on Silicon Power must become more robust. Managing efficiency, cost savings, and
MOSFETs.” GaN devices offer the best performance in the smallest size robustness will be the goal for manufacturers, and a divide will
to increase the efficiency, shrink the size, and reduce the system cost become apparent between technologies that are good at most of these
and those that are great at all of them.
After Texas Instruments, Analog Devices will deliver a keynote
Don’t miss this opportunity to exchange ideas on the latest energy solutions. And before the panel convenes, Yole
and get product and technology updates on Développement will provide an analysis on the market aspects with
motor control, wide-bandgap semiconductors, a talk titled “Opportunities for Power Electronics in Renewable Elec-
tricity Generation.”
When considering the sustainable development of new electricity
and smart energy. Visitor registration is free. generation capability and the advantages and drawbacks of different
Go to powerup-expo.com for information. renewable electricity sources, PV and wind energy are today viewed
as the most promising choices. Although PV and wind are already
quite mature technologies, there is still a large untapped potential
for 48-V power conversion. EPC’s eGaN FETs and ICs for 48-V appli- to increase their performance, reliability, and lifetime while decreas-
cations have seen rising adoption volumes in high-density computing ing the cost of their power electronic components. Yole analysts will
and automotive designs. present PV and wind inverter market forecasts and discuss technol-
After the opening presentation, STMicroelectronics will deliver ogy and supply chain trends. The technology and business synergies
a keynote on the impact of power wide-bandgap semiconductors in among PV, wind, and stationary battery energy storage markets will
improving the efficiency of on-board chargers, DC/DC converters, be analyzed.
and traction inverters in EVs. As GaN devices become available and After these speeches, a panel titled “The Future of Energy” will host
with SiC shipments growing quickly, WBG devices are making inroads major players in the sector, including ADI, Infineon, STMicroelectron-
into industrial applications and even some consumer devices. ST will ics, LF Energy, Texas Instruments, and Yole.
explain why WBG devices represent a paradigm shift for efficiency A series of technical talks on various motor control topics will fol-
and how SiC and GaN can help make next-generation smart-industry, low, and some of the topics covered will include “EV Smart Charging
smart-driving, and personal-electronics systems more powerful, useful, Solutions,” “The Future of Smart Energy Development,” and “Making
and convenient. Smart Power a Reality.”
Next, in a talk titled “Enabling Superior Power Conversion Efficiency EV smart charging is a system capable of monitoring, using, and
with State-of-the-Art SiC Devices,” ROHM Semiconductor will survey limiting the use of charging devices to optimize energy consumption.
the latest technology and performance features of SiC MOSFET and These systems can be managed by the user (user-managed charging, or
diode products. SiC semiconductors are driving power electronics UMC) or by the supplier (supplier-managed charging, or SMC). In UMC,
innovation in multiple industries across the globe. Combining low the owner of the electric vehicle chooses the recharging time based
energy losses, high switching frequencies, and superior reliability, on the price of energy and the user’s own requirements. In SMC, the
these devices will dramatically improve power converter efficiency and energy supplier intervenes directly on the management, via vehicle-
enable system benefits at increasingly competitive costs. to-grid (V2G) technology, regulating the charging and discharging of
After these speeches, a panel titled “Are You GaN or SiC?” will the vehicle in real time, on the basis of the state of the grid, local power
host experts from major players in the sector such as Analog Devices, consumption, and information on the EV charging state.
Infineon, Power Integrations, GaN Systems, Wolfspeed/Cree, and Industry 4.0, smart industry,and smart power are common buzz-
UnitedSiC. Technical talks will follow, covering the emerging market words, but what do they really mean for a power designer? Since the
opportunities for WBG semiconductors, SPICE models for GaN and SiC, early days of the power conversion, when it moved from 50-Hz linear
and GaN devices in LiDAR systems design. conversion to switching and later to MOSFET technology, power
designers have permanently faced challenges. With the demand for
June 18: Smart/Renewable Energy lower energy consumption, rising levels of systems integration, and
With a large number of countries racing to build reliable and the increased availability of wide-bandgap semiconductors, today’s
long-term-sustainable alternatives to curb fossil fuel emissions, power designers confront more decisions and more pressure, forcing
wind energy and solar photovoltaic (PV) installations have recorded changes in the way the industry works toward solutions.
unparalleled growth over the past decade. Power semiconductor In a talk that will close out the conference, LF Energy, a coalition
manufacturers believe GaN- and SiC-based devices hold the key to launched last summer by the Linux Foundation, will present a new
addressing a primary hurdle for the expansion of renewable energy: technology that can accelerate decarbonization by enabling the
the lack of affordable and scalable power conversion and storage digitalization of energy. Open-source technology allows vendors,
solutions. When developing energy systems, cybersecurity, interop- suppliers, and their customers to jointly invest in and work to build
erability, control, optimization, virtualization of network functions, the grid of the future. This is the “Power of Together,” as LF Energy
and digital management of distributed energy resources (DER) can describes it. ■
all represent development challenges. The infrastructure will have
the objective of distributing energy — in combination with grid edge Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio is a staff correspondent at AspenCore,
technologies, such as microgrid and intelligent buildings — and inte- editor of Power Electronics News, and editor-in-chief of EEWeb.

JUNE 2020 | www.eetimes.eu