The European “Green Deal” initiative by the EU commission strives for sustainable mobility and efficient use of resources. Within HiEFFICIENT the project partners will work towards these goals and will develop the next generation of wide band-gap semiconductors (WBG) in the area of smart mobility. To boost this development and the market introduction in automotive applications, HiEFFICIENT partners have set ambitious goals to gain higher acceptance and achieve the maximum benefit in using WBG semiconductors: 1.) Reduction in Volume of 40%, by means of integration on all levels (component-, subsystem- and system level), 2.) Increase efficiency beyond 98%, while reducing losses of up to 50%, 3.) Increase reliability of wide band-gap power electronic system to ensure a lifetime improvement of up to 20%. To accomplish the targeted goals, the partners will work on industrial use cases to demonstrate the key achievements and the progress that goes beyond state of the art. This includes, amongst others, modular inverters with different voltage levels (such as 48V, 400V, 800V), flexible on- and multi-use off-board chargers for different voltage levels, multi-purpose DC/DC converters and test systems for power electronics’ lifetime testing. These use cases are led by OEMs and other industrial partners, who define requirements and specifications for the envisioned systems. The project work starts at component-level, developing highly integrated GaN and SiC devices, and is followed by multi-objective design optimization and virtual prototyping approaches. High integration means big challenges in thermal management, which will be addressed by the development of advanced cooling concepts and modularity for the sake of maintainability and flexibility for future applications. Finally, the demonstrators are integrated in relevant environments to proof the concepts and the applicability for electric drivetrains with higher integration, higher efficiency, and higher reliability.

The project objective of the project HiPERFORM is based on the investigation of industrial applicability of high-performance semiconductors with wide-band gap materials in the field of Smart Mobility. For this purpose, a holistic approach is selected that includes the entire supply chain - from the manufacturer of semiconductors as well as power modules through suppliers of development methods and tools to the system manufacturer and ultimately the vehicle manufacturer. The integration of academic partners with a high level of competence in these domains completes this approach. On the other hand, specific requirements for power electronics are addressed in specific application areas, which include both power inverters in the vehicle, electrical charging modules inside and outside the vehicle, as well as the associated development and test systems. The high performance spectrum of wide-band gap semiconductors and the resulting potential for improvement and savings within the concrete applications of the electrified power train contribute to a substantial saving of CO2 in transport and thus support the achievement of the set climate targets in Europe. The jointly planned objectives and research activities will further strengthen European research and industry partners in the field of electronic components and systems. Besides Semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, the project requires also high capabilities in Cyber Physical Systems and Design Technologies and supports the domain Smart Mobility and Smart Energy as well.