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Power Electronics Technology Roadmap from PEIC

February 27, 2017 by Jeff Shepard

As part of its mission to accelerate the growth of the U.S. power electronics industry, the Power Electronics Industry Collaborative (PEIC) recently completed a comprehensive technology roadmap designed to provide a path for U.S. manufacturers to develop a robust domestic power electronics ecosystem.

PEIC, a national member-based consortium comprised of industry, academic and government stakeholders in power electronics, undertook the roadmap project to provide an in-depth analysis of the domestic supply chain to identify its strengths and weaknesses and to apply that analysis towards advancing power electronics technology development in the U.S. The two-year study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Standards & Technology’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (NIST AMTech).

“Recent advances in power semiconductor technology, particularly in wide bandgap materials, have opened up significant new opportunities for the U.S. power electronics industry, along with corresponding challenges,” said Keith Evans, PEIC President. “The goal of PEIC’s participation in creating the report was to identify those technology and manufacturing challenges, and to present key strategic recommendations for the U.S. to develop effective solutions to meet the growing demands for efficient power electronics.”

The completed technology roadmap/supply chain report was presented to members at PEIC’s 2016 annual meeting, held last November at PowerAmerica on North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus. The full text of the report (~90 pages) is available to PEIC member companies. The full report is also available for purchase by non-members.

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With a record number of member companies, academic institutions and government laboratories and agencies in attendance, the PEIC annual meeting, which was co-sponsored by PEIC members Infineon Technologies, Quora Technology, and PowerAmerica, also featured a tour of the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery & Management (FREEDM) Center facilities at NCSU, as well as a panel discussion led by representatives of several federal research laboratories engaged in next generation power electronics research. In addition, the program included presentations by both member companies and invited guests.

As an integral part of its mission to advance the U.S. power electronics industry’s competitiveness in the global economy, PEIC is actively engaging in discussions with member organizations and other industry, academic institutions, and government labs to develop workforce development programs specific to power electronics engineers during the coming year.

PEIC is a national, industry-focused, member-based consortium comprised of original equipment manufacturers, material suppliers, researchers, scientists, and other stakeholders working to advance the U.S. power electronics ecosystem by accelerating power electronics technology development, analyzing the supply chain, and reinforcing workforce development opportunities.