Watch: Insights into Wide Bandgap Power Electronics and applications at WiPDA

World-leading power electronics experts identified key themes focusing on critical power electronics applications to deliver Net Zero, such as faster EV charging, power supplies for data centres, the energy grid, aerospace and defence. 

Delegates also pinpointed AI as an enabler for faster design process and optimisation, and to improve productivity.    

Swansea University's Professor Mike Jennings identified artificial intelligence as a “real exciting area” that could be used “to identify new materials”.  

A key theme from the conference was the wide range of applications of power module devices, and the critical nature of power electronics to key industries and the economy at large.  

According to data from the US Department of Energy, data centres, medical devices and EVs could consume 20% of the world's energy by 2030, so new materials and advances in compound semiconductor technology within power electronics will be needed to increase efficiency and address this potential energy crisis head-on. 

Professor Florin Udrea of the University of Cambridge and Cambridge GaN Devices Ltd underlined the role that gallium nitride and silicon carbide will play in meeting this challenge. 

“We are no longer seeing a revolution in silicon. 

“Two technologies [gallium nitride and silicon carbide] which are very important, but they are also complimentary. Silicone carbide will go towards the higher power, and gallium nitride will go towards the lower power and high frequency.”  

According to the Statistical Review of World Energy 2024 published by the Energy Institute, global greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector reached a record high in 2023. 

Renewable energy is critical, as is an efficient conversion of this energy into electricity, which means novel power electronics and an adaptable grid. 

Professor Johann Kolar, ETH Zurich, said: "Of course today, this grid is not really prepared for accommodating this much electricity or electric energy [from renewable sources]. 

“In future this will be extended...and with this, the power electronics in order to convert this into some useful form.” 

With the adoption of new technology such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and the likely exponential growth of data centres harnessing AI applications, the potential additional demand for energy and the subsequent need for more efficient wide bandgap devices is obvious. 

Collaboration between academia and industry and building an innovation ecosystem will be key to the future of power electronics. 

Professor Oliver Williams of Cardiff University said:, "Even in our power systems that we already have, we can save maybe 30% energy just by changing to wide bandgap semiconductors. 

“[W]ith CSConnected, this whole cluster idea, it's started to build momentum. We've seen the investment from Vishay, in Newport Wafer Fab, and then you've got the two big university clean rooms, a bunch of companies around that, and so bringing everybody together makes a huge difference."