Industry's highest power density grid storage ground power conditioner SiC module

Daihen Corporation has selected Infineon Technologies AG's CoolSiC 2000V modules for their innovative unit-type power conditioners for grid storage batteries. In the journey towards lowering carbon emissions, grid storage batteries and the power conditioners linked to them play a crucial role in enabling the wider adoption of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power generation. There has been a growing demand for higher voltage storage batteries and power conditioners to improve the effectiveness of power generation, storage, and transmission. Moreover, with the expansion of storage battery systems on a larger scale, finding appropriate locations and minimising construction costs have emerged as significant challenges.

The unit-type power conditioner for grid storage batteries launched by Daihen in 2024 is the first product in the industry to connect to storage batteries at a high DC link voltage of 1500V. The higher voltage enables the product to be used with large-capacity storage battery facilities, resulting in a 40% reduction in the footprint of grid storage batteries compared to the conventional product.

The high power density is achieved by using Infineon's 62mm CoolSiC MOSFET 2000V module (FF3MR20KM1H). As well as the characteristics of SiC that enable high voltage, better thermal dissipation and high power density, Infineon's SiC products feature M1H trench technology that increases the gate drive voltage range and provides high robustness and reliability against gate voltage spikes. The company pioneered the industry by introducing the 2000V class for a SiC module. This innovation has been instrumental in simplifying the inverter circuit configuration. Also, the optimised 62mm package has substantially reduced system size, contributing to enhanced efficiency and performance.

Mr. Akihiro Ohori, general manager, Development Department, Energy Management System Division, Daihen, said, "In order to increase the voltage of power conditioners, the circuit configuration of conventional 1200 V devices had become complicated. However, by adopting Infineon's 2000 V SiC modules, we were able to achieve a simplified circuit configuration and control design, thereby reducing development resources and the footprint."

Masanori Fujimori, marketing director of the Industrial and Infrastructure Segment at Infineon Technologies Japan, said, "We are very pleased that our pioneering CoolSiC 2000V module has contributed to the development of the industry's highest power density power conditioners for grid storage batteries. We believe that Infineon's SiC technology will address the need for higher efficiency in energy storage systems and will greatly contribute to the growth of renewable energy."