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Navitas’ gallium nitride tech could help EVs charge three times faster

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An electric car powered by a Mercedes Benz EQC 400 4Matic is shown with a charging port at the Canadian International AutoShow, Toronto (Ontario, Canada), February 13, 2019.

Mark Blinch | Reuters

Navitas SemiconductorThe company, which makes super-fast chargers for phones, believes that electric cars are the next big thing.

CNBC spoke with Gene Sheridan of Navitas, who said that the company will do the same for 50 watts for tablets or phones. “We’re also going to do it for 5,000 watts and 20,000 watts to quickly charge your EV,” Gene Sheridan, Navitas CEO told CNBC.

Navitas’ technology could make it possible for an electric vehicle to charge in less than a quarter of the time currently required.

It will take around 10 hours for the battery to charge fully. Tesla. It’s possible to say “Well, it’s over night.” I’m sleeping. Sheridan agreed. But there are occasions when you can’t get to the roads in 10 hours.

The same technology could also be used in an electric car. This could increase the range by up to 30% or decrease the size of its battery by 30%. Both are advantages.

It is likely that it will not be available in new cars before at least 2025.

What exactly is gallium Nitride?

Gallium is an element of the periodic table. It can also be rediscovered as a naturally occurring by-product in other metals such as aluminum. Sheridan stated that this metal was not used for decades.

When gallium and nitrogen are combined into gallium nutride (GaN), they can make semiconductors for charging consumer electronics device. The GaN semiconductor can charge up to three times faster than silicon, and it is up to twentyx faster than silicon. It also has a smaller and lighter footprint that allows for faster power delivery and faster charging.

This technology is relatively new and it’s not yet widely used. It’s also more costly and will require customers to redesign all their charging systems. Sheridan says that as the scale of business increases, it will bring down the price.

It’s now only 10% to 20% less expensive. He says it will be cheaper or the same price within two years. The chip is powerful. It’s a powerful chip, but to get it done right, one must redesign the power system around it. That requires lots of new skills.

Navitas partners closely with their customers to assist them in making those changes.

Our customers are our priority. We create design centers — just for mobile chargers, just for data centers, just for EVs — to specifically help those customers design the entire next generation power system using our GaN chip, because we have experts on all the other stuff, not just the GaN chip, to help them do it. There is a lot to learn.

Navitas has shipped more than 35 million units in three years with its GaN technology for customers such as Chinese manufacturer and smartphone brand. Vivo, DellChinese electronic manufacturer of consumer electronics Xiaomi.  

Navitas, which has received over $100m in multiple rounds of financing, is now generating revenues of approximately $20 million annually. Although the company isn’t yet profitable, it plans to become so in 2023. In October, Navitas Semiconductor went public via SPACThe company has more than $1 billion in market cap.

Everything from cell phone chargers and electric cars

GaN’s benefits for electric vehicles beyond just charging

GaN supercondutor technology for EVs will do more than simply make them charge quicker.

Navitas Semiconductor’s graphic shows how the GaN technology could make electric vehicles more efficient.

Courtesy Navitas Semiconductor

The power must then be transferred to the wheels once it is in the battery of an electric car. That’s what is currently happening with silicon semiconductors. Sheridan stated that 30% to 40% of power is lost as it travels from the batteries to the wheels.

You can either use smaller batteries or take the car farther if you have GaN superconductors.

Sheridan stated that while I cannot absorb all of the lost energy to zero, it is possible to take 30% off that amount and use GaN technology more efficiently.

Sheridan stated that EVs are still expensive, and buyers will not buy them. “Anything you can do, to make the price lower, is going to help,” she said.

Consumers are also hesitant about switching to electric vehicles due to “range anxiety,” but this could be alleviated by improving the electric vehicle’s efficiency with GaN technology. The slow charging of the electric vehicle is another reason. This is just slower than filling up your gas tank. So we are trying to narrow the gap between those three things.

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