High-efficiency power electronics (PE) used in power generation, transmission and distribution is the prerequisite for the penetration of renewable energies across Europe; it improves energy efficiency; increases power quality and enables continuous voltage regulation, reactive power compensation and automated distribution. It also facilitates the integration of distributed resources such as local energy stores, photovoltaic generators and plug-in electric vehicles.

The development of a new generation of high power semiconductor devices, capable of operating above 10 kV, is crucial to reduce the cost of PE in the applications mentioned above. The material properties of SiC, clearly superior to Si, will lead to higher power devices with much better performance than conventional Si devices. However, today’s SiC PE does not perform well compared to predictions and production costs are too high.

By bringing together the world’s leading manufacturers and researchers, SPEED aims for a breakthrough in SiC technology along the entire supply chain:

Growth of SiC substrates and epitaxial layers.

Fabrication of power devices in the 1.7kV / >10kV range.

Packaging and reliability testing.

Highly efficient SiC-based power conversion cells.

Real-life applications and field tests in close collaboration with two market-leading manufacturers of high voltage (HV) devices.

New known methodologies will be adapted to SiC devices and optimised to become a practical reality. The main objectives are cost savings and superior power quality by using more efficient power converters that take advantage of the reduced power losses of SiC. To this end, suitable SiC substrates, epitaxial layers and HV devices will be developed and finally implemented in two demonstrations:

A cost-effective solid-state transformer to support advanced grid intelligence and power quality.

A windmill power converter with enhanced capabilities for AC and DC power generation.