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Thermal Management Evaluation Model: Tackling heat in next-generation electronics

Date: 18.11.2025

Develop new SME capabilities Technology acceleration
Close-up of a robotic arm assembling or inspecting an electronic circuit board in a factory setting. - CSA Catapult

Thermal Management Evaluation Model

As electronic systems become smaller, faster, and more powerful, they generate more heat. Managing this heat has become one of the biggest challenges in modern engineering – especially for systems built with compound semiconductors, which power everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy and high-speed communications.

The Thermal Management Evaluation Module (EVM) project at Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult was created to tackle this challenge head-on.

The project explored innovative materials, manufacturing techniques, and design methods to help UK businesses overcome thermal bottlenecks and accelerate innovation in advanced electronics.

The challenge

Modern electronics are reaching thermal limits. As devices need to deliver more power and performance, this also creates more heat which must be dissipated to prevent damage or performance loss.

Just one area of impact is in electric vehicles, where batteries, motors, and power electronics all produce significant heat. Traditional cooling methods often can’t keep pace with the thermal demands of these high-power systems, and this is threatening performance, reliability and scalability in industry.

To stay competitive, the UK needs new thermal management solutions and processes that can handle higher power densities and enable longer-lasting, more efficient products.

The EVM project set out to tackle this challenge by combining top experts, cutting-edge design, manufacturing, and materials innovation to create a new generation of cooling technologies for future high-performance electronic systems.

The approach

Our skilled engineering team at CSA Catapult worked together to explore next-generation thermal management processes.
Their work focused on three main areas:

  • Ceramic packaging – offering improved thermal conductivity and electrical insulation to help dissipate heat more efficiently.
  • Metal printing – using additive manufacturing to create complex, high-precision heat sink geometries that traditional machining can’t achieve.
  • Silver sintering – a joining technique that provides superior thermal and electrical performance compared to standard soldering.

 

The team evaluated a range of additive manufacturing tools and 3D printing techniques, testing their performance and reliability in real-world scenarios. Results were then shared with industry partners to validate the technologies’ commercial potential and to encourage wider adoption across the sector.

This collaborative, exploratory approach is a technology demonstrator – allowing partners to test new ideas before committing to large-scale investment.

The outcome

Multiple new approaches to heat dissipation were demonstrated as a result of the EVM project, leading to:

  • Proof-of-concept designs for new thermal management techniques
  • Improved packaging and manufacturing processes
  • Stronger internal R&D capability at CSA Catapult
  • Increased collaboration with UK industry

 

The project will enable SMEs to have access to advanced manufacturing tools and expertise, helping them test ideas faster, reduce risk, and accelerate product time-to-market.

Impact

Inspiring UK innovation

The EVM is enhancing the UK’s capacity to design and scale advanced packaging and cooling solutions, which has the potential to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers and strengthen domestic semiconductor capability.

Impact

Accelerating SME growth

For SMEs, the EVM provides a safe, low-cost environment to explore and test new ideas. By removing the barriers of high development costs and technical uncertainty, it helps small businesses validate concepts faster, reduce time-to-market, and increase commercial confidence.

Impact

Driving performance and sustainability

Smarter thermal management leads to lower energy consumption, longer component lifespan, and improved reliability – critical factors for clean technologies like electric vehicles and renewable energy systems.

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