ROHM Semiconductor India Mavens’ Draws the SiC Future of Renewables in India

Niloy Banerjee August 30, 2017

2 minutes read

Power devices such as SiC& IGBT from ROHM can improve conversion efficiency and contribute in reducing the cost of renewable energy making it viable

With the increase in urbanization, India is choking with prevalent pollution. It’s worth noting that the country is on a verge to grab the accolade of being the most polluted country worldwide. The only alternate to save the country from this mayhem is Renewable.

Today, at its grand press meet, ROHM Semiconductor India Pvt Ltd (RSI) a subsidiary of ROHM Co. Ltd., Kyoto, announced an array of power solutions to embark a new era for India’s green efficient power demand.

The Japanese semiconductor giant showcased its next-gen SiC, IGBT and gate drivers which the company touts to bring efficient power conversion. The products are designed precisely to meet the harsh condition of India’s rapidly growing power infrastructure.

Currently, India is attaining high-priority on rural electrification. This has driven the demand for solutions that can provide a stable and distributed energy with minimal resource utilization. It has also increased the demand for power plants based on renewable energy like solar, wind energy, besides other not so popular biomass, tidal etc.

Addressing the media, Daisuke Nakamura, Managing Director of Rohm Semiconductor India Pvt. Ltd, noted,“Quality is our top priority at all times”. He said, “It is our company mission which we have maintained since its establishment in 1958. It is same in India business, too. We always offer the high quality and reliable solutions and by that, we also would like to be the best partner of Indian customers. Silicon Carbide power devices with trench structure that leverage industry-leading technology is a product which will be able to contribute ‘affordable renewable energy’. It would help not only the improvement of energy conversion but also the implementation of smaller and stronger in renewable energy application like a solar inverter or high input voltage power supply.”

Working on the Gandhian principle of “more from less, for more”, RSI asserts to make energy affordable to masses.

RSI also cited that it is working towards maximizing the energy harvested by controlling the power loss during all the power stages of conversion like conditioning, inversion etc. This is towards creating more from less, i.e., effective utilization of renewable energy. For example, as muchas 30% of the electric energy is lost in the process of generation, transmission and distribution.

This loss along with the loses in power conversion is believed to exceed35%. In response, RSI proposes power solutions centered on cutting-edge SiC power devices that achieve higher efficiency inthe power conversion. The trench SiC-based inverters can reduce power loss by as much as ~2% compared to the conventional devices like IGBT, Si MOSFET etc., while contributing towards miniaturization owing to reduced heatdissipation.

The extensive dialogue of RSI discussed on the improvement in size and efficiency owing to the adoption of the power solutions from RSI, like gate drivers, trench SiC MOSFETs, and IGBTs, play a vital role in enabling small scale and distributed power plants for tapping solar and wind energy.

A ~2% increase in efficiency along with the reduced cooling requirements can bring in a considerable cost saving for the end customers, besides improving the reliability of the power converters. This will help bridge the demand supply gap, which is “more from less, for more”, thus reaching more people. The distributed power generation, besides reducing a huge burden on our grid, reduces the transmission and distribution losses, said RSI veteran.

Quick local support for designing systems using technologies is available from experienced Application Engineering team in Bangalore. RSI’s sales & marketing teams in New Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai work closely with customers to ensure support in adopting these products and reap the rich benefits.

ROHM Solution Key Applications areas include:

◆ Solar panels ◆ Wind turbines◆ Automotive (xEV) ◆ Industrial equipment　◆Transport

◆Data Center / Large scale Server　◆Home electronics / Air conditioner

Car