Wavre & Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium. March 2010. Mitra Energy & Infrastructure SA, provider of high reliability managed energy solutions and Cissoid SA, leader in high-temperature semiconductor solutions, have entered an agreement to cooperate on the design of high-efficiency, high-temperature, turnkey energy conversion solutions for the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (EV & P-HEV).
Today’s battery chargers, DC-DC converters or motor drivers used in hybrid and electric vehicles use conventional semiconductor components, with limited performance in terms of efficiency and operating temperature. As a result, these equipments require complex and expensive fluid cooling to keep the operating temperature low. Those energy converters are often bulky and add weight to the vehicles, limiting their autonomy and performance.
“A new generation of components is now becoming available. Their characteristics support the design of high power-density, high-efficiency energy converters. Using these new devices will enable us to reduce the size and the weight of energy converters by sixty percent, contributing to further energy savings and increased autonomy of battery-powered vehicles.” says Eric Brouwers, CEO of Mitra E&I: “We are particularly pleased to cooperate with Cissoid, who has a unique experience in the design and implementation of those new components. Combining it with our years of expertise in high-reliability power solutions is going to accelerate the time-to-market of a new generation of energy converters.”
Tony Denayer, Cissoid’ CEO added: “Car makers have a strong need to increase the reliability of their power conversion systems, while decreasing their size and weight. By combining Mitra’s recognized expertise in the design of high-power converters with Cissoid high-temperature semiconductors, this partnership is going to bring to the market some cutting-edge power converters dedicated to the EV & P-HEV manufacturers’ needs. Many tier-1 players in the field of aeronautics and railway have already selected our solutions; the cooperation with Mitra is going to accelerate the adoption of similar solutions by the electric & hybrid automotive industry.”
For more information visit www.mitra-ei.com or www.cissoid.com.