Germany-headquartered EV powertrain manufacturer Hofer Powertrain has started a research project in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) to develop a three-level gallium nitride (GaN) traction inverter that uses adaptive gate drivers and enables lower switching losses. 

The project is supported by funding from Innosuisse, the Swiss Agency of Innovation Promotion.

The collaboration with ETH Zurich builds on Hofer Powertrain’s progress over the last four years in developing advanced multilevel power electronics using GaN chip technology that has resulted in 800 V GaN inverters with greater efficiency and power density compared to silicon-based systems. 

The new project aims to produce an inverter that employs a novel modulation scheme, operates at very high switching frequencies, and incorporates additional features that the company has been developing.

The project will be supervised by Professor Johann Biela from ETH Zurich and Dr. Lukasz Roslaniec, Division Lead of Power Electronics at Hofer Powertrain, who commented: “We are confident that our partnership will yield solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also financially accessible, thereby pushing the adoption of electric vehicles and environmental sustainability.”

Source: Hofer Powertrain