The electrification of vehicles is increasing rapidly, driven by the availability of higher performance and more cost-effective battery technologies, improved mileage vehicles as well as ecological awareness, government incentives, and regulations. However, electrification of vehicles in its true sense requires a wide array of efficient products and solutions, STMicroelectronics has been a key enabler for the industry to achieve its goal of seamless vehicle electrification.
STMicroelectronics offers a truly broad range product portfolio for electrification based on state-of-the-art technologies, from traction inverters, on-board chargers, DC-DC converters, battery management, charging stations, etc. ST WBG materials, eg, STPOWER SiC MOSFETs and SiC rectifiers as well as STPOWER GaN technology could serve the disruptive demands of e-Mobility.
To talk about more on the solutions and products offered by STMicroelectronics for vehicle electrification more precisely, ELE Times Sub Editor Mayank Vashisht had a conversation with Filippo Di Giovanni, Strategic Marketing, Innovation and Key Programs of Power Transistor Sub-Group, STMicroelectronics. Excerpts:
ELE Times: As the world is gazing to a truly electrified automotive future that grows within the ecological parlance of the world. How is STMicroelectronics providing the solutions to the industry that is enabling them to realize this goal?
STMicroelectronics has long had the foresight and vision of the big role that electrification can play in our society. Our success results from the Company’s being well entrenched in the Automotive market so that it knows well the trends and has also successfully introduced and industrialized the novel semiconductor technologies such as silicon carbide that are enabling e-mobility and large-scale electrification.
ELE Times: WBG technology is multifarious and plays a pivotal role in the efficient electrification of any vehicle. What are the latest products and solutions offered by STMicroelectronics in regard with the same?
STMicroelectronics has been pioneering the use of silicon carbide in automotive applications for twenty years and we’ve sold hundreds of millions of products into the automotive market up until now. This success has given ST a market share exceeding 50% globally, including in the traction inverter application that represents the heart of any electric vehicle (Source: Yole report on SiC, 2022). The introduction of our 3rd generation STPOWER SiC MOSFETs at the end of last year further supports the market with more dedicated products now available even for the most demanding requirements. Our technical successes have put us into the market-leading position and expanded our collaborations with car makers all over the world
ELE Times: Please tell our readers the benefits ST traction inverters with regard to the electric vehicles.
ST’s semiconductors are the power inside an increasing number of inverters built by OEM and tier1 customers. It is especially our silicon carbide that is making the rapid transition to EVs possible. In addition to the material and physical benefits that ST’s STPOWER SiC MOSFETs deliver to automotive inverters we also have developed innovative packaging solutions that allow customers to design lighter and better integrated systems. In addition, the inherent properties of ST’s SiC products allow for cheaper cooling systems. All of these efficiency gains translate into longer driving ranges from a given battery pack and make an electric vehicle more attractive to potential buyers.
ELE Times: How STMicroelectronics’ WBG material are disrupting the emobility ecosystem around the world with greater possibilities?
Relentless innovation has allowed ST to offer a large variety of solutions to the e-mobility ecosystem. ST’s silicon carbide story is exemplary of that spirit, as it was born 20 years ago. Even then, the potential use of this material was understood, even as the first prototypes were produced on very small wafers. Innovation alone, though, would not be sufficient if we didn’t build the proper level of production capability. ST has built vertical integration to make the supply chain more resilient. We’ve added a second manufacturing site (Singapore) to our primary one in Catania. From these sites, ST is now able to serve a large spectrum of customers on all continents, attesting to the big role played by the Company in this fast-rising market.
Having established our leadership in SiC, we are now building a solid foundation in gallium nitride, where ST is investing to create a STPOWER product line-up that will maximize our WBG offering to all the markets and applications where efficiency maximization is a must.
