Cambridge start-up QPT unveils qGaNDrive Module
New GaN-driving topology could deliver a return in domestic heat pump energy savings in 100 days or less
Cambridge start-up Quantum Power Transformation (QPT) has launched its qGaNDrive Module to unleash the full performance potential of GaN power transistors in motor drives for HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
Commenting on the news, QPT founder Rob Gwynne said: “GaN transistors have always promised the best performance and efficiency over silicon MOSFETs and SiC, but they are notoriously difficult to drive at speed. We have developed an entirely new and unique topology for driving GaN transistors allowing them to switch at speeds of up to 20MHz, delivering major benefits in power consumption and efficiency.”
Business development manager Richard Ord added: “Electric motor driven systems (EMDS) consume 45 percent* of the world’s energy, and yet their efficiency at typical operating speeds can be as low as 50 percent. Our solution tackles performance across the range of operating speeds and could improve efficiency by up to 35 percent.”
The challenge of driving GaN transistors has so far restricted broader adoption and compromised performance: QPT’s solution fixes that problem and will accelerate GaN market share.
The qGaNDrive Module from QPT integrates their core topology with GaN transistors in a fully EMC-screened turn-key power module. The company estimates that a typical 15kW domestic heat pump could deliver a return in energy savings in one hundred days or less.
Quantum Power Transformation will attend PCIM 2022 in Nuremberg, the industry exhibition for the latest in power innovations from the 10th to 12th of May.
(* International Energy Agency - Energy-Efficiency Policy Opportunities for Electric Motor-Driven Systems)
