ZF, VisIC to develop next-generation electric drivelines

by Today's Trucking

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany – ZF Friedrichshafen and VisIC Technologies have announced a partnership to develop the next generation of high-performance and high-efficiency electric drivelines for vehicles.


The focus of the partnership will be the development of gallium nitride-based power inverters for drivelines. Photo: VisIC Technologies

ZF is well-known for its cost-effective electric drivelines while the Israeli-based VisIC is a leader in gallium nitride (GaN) devices for automotive high-voltage applications.

The partnership will see the two companies deepen their development efforts, based on VisIC D3GaN semiconductors technology, they said Thursday.

The focus of the joint efforts will be on 400-volt driveline applications, covering the largest segment of the electric vehicle market.

“Our partnership with ZF for the development of gallium nitride-based power inverters in electric vehicles illustrates the breakthrough of gallium nitride technology in the automotive industry,” said Tamara Baksht, CEO of VisIC.

Gallium nitride semiconductors are key to further improve efficiency and performance of electrified vehicles, from hybrid up to full electric applications, the two companies said.

The new technology offers significantly better switching speed, range improvements as well as smaller and lighter package size, thereby reducing total system cost, they said.

“We are pleased about the cooperation with VisIC and are convinced that together we can further improve future electric drive systems based on gallium nitride technology,” says Dirk Walliser, senior vice-president of corporate research and development at ZF.


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