QPT wins grant for APC GaN inverter project
QPT, a Cambridge-based specialist in highly efficient GaN-based electric motor controls, has won a grant for a new project called VERDE to develop a high frequency, 400V/60kW GaN inverter demonstrator for automotive use.
It is funded by the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), as part of a policy to accelerate early-stage technologies to market that will support the shift to net-zero automotive. The other company in the APC Project is RAM Innovations Ltd.
This demonstrator features high frequency switching up to 1MHz to enable dramatic savings in waste, weight and power costs in the drive system. Key to this is QPT’s unique pure sign wave output that reduces harshness, noise, and vibration to improve reliability and reduce power consumption.
The traction inverter market for EVs was estimated at $17.93bn in 2023 and is projected to reach around $73.08bn by 2032, a CAGR of nearly 17 percent according to Precedence Research. Currently half of the world’s electricity is used by electric motors: QPT’s technology could reduce their electricity use by 10 percent which would be a significant reduction in CO2 production.
Rupert Baines, QPT’s CEO, explained: “Our system technology enables GaN to be used for high-power, high-performance applications, overcoming the thermal and EMI problems that have stopped GaN being used in automotive in the past. We are already talking with automotive companies who would like to partner with us to leapfrog the market that is currently focussed on SiC and realise GaN-based inverters. Reducing waste in the inverter and in the motor not only increases range (or reduces batteries for the same range), but it also simplifies the cooling system, further reducing weight. This is a major game changer for the EV industry.”
Peter Green, CEO of RAM Innovations , that provide innovative packing to keep dies cool, added:“We are delighted to be collaborating in this project that will have a huge impact in putting the UK into a leadership position in the development of EV technologies. This Project will create a demonstrator to be shown at Cenex Expo at UTAC Millbrook, UK in September 2025, where the world’s leading EV companies will be able to see the technological leap forward that this Project has made possible. This APC investment will accelerate bringing the technology to market by at least two years!”
Ian Stacey, QPT’s VP of engineering and operations who is the QPT project leader, concluded,:“VERDE is part of Innovate UK’s campaign to fund exciting British innovations so that Britain can be a major force in the new technologies that will be driving the global economy. As well as stimulating research and development, it will also provide around 70 UK manufacturing jobs by 2032 as the technology is turned into products. In the drive to net-zero, the demand for electric motors will escalate and these must be as efficient as possible to minimise electricity being wasted. EVs will play an increasingly important role in achieving Net Zero. This project unlocks GaN and is a major step forward in achieving it, replacing legacy silicon and SiC.”
