The number and total volume of green energy solutions for industry and transportation that require power electronics is growing strongly. The Fossil Free Future program aims to drive this growth by developing solutions that enable a commercially viable green transition.
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The focus areas of the Fossil Free Future program require the development of new types of solutions with a very high level of power density and digitalization, and we are aiming for an increase of more than 40% in energy efficiency. For transportation solutions, the program aims at an overall reduction of more than 25% in fuel consumption. Moreover, the program will explore solutions that enable feasible green hydrogen production.
To achieve these goals, the Intelligent Power Electronics Ecosystem will extensively research new technological solutions, materials and digitalization. This research includes studying the use of silicon carbide in very high power-density solutions and as a replacement for materials like rare earth metals.
We have identified three critical focus areas, which are all important to the energy transition. In all these areas, we have strong expertise and a unique position in the value chain, and this gives us a significant advantage in leading the creation of an ecosystem in this field. Our focus areas are:
Power electronics are required in all areas of electrification and they enable smart connection to the power grid, which is becoming more and more critical. At the same time, they enable smart control of energy production and therefore they can significantly affect the energy efficiency of systems.
The Fossil Free Future program will develop the novel power electronics solutions required for electrification and the production of green hydrogen. It includes several critical development areas, such as the development of silicon carbide components, galvanic isolation, medium voltage solutions and high-power solutions, and optimizing connections to the grid. Furthermore, modelling and digitalization will be used to study aspects related to sustainability. Our aim is to improve the efficiency of power electronics systems by more than 40%.
Mobile work equipment, including heavy-duty vehicles, contributes to around 6% of total emissions in the EU. There is great interest in reducing these emissions through electrification. Moreover, the development of charging infrastructure has been highlighted as a key element in the EU’s Green Deal on the road to achieving carbon neutrality.
Our aim is to develop standardized electrical systems that can be used ‘plug and play’ and which can significantly accelerate the electrification of mobile work machinery and equipment for Finnish manufacturers.
We have extensive expertise in high- and low-power charging, which means we are ideally positioned to contribute to this area. In particular, we concentrate on charging and energy storage solutions for heavy and off-road vehicles, and marine applications. In this focus area, we also study and develop solutions for grid connections, grid services and predictive monitoring.
The EU’s hydrogen strategy has identified the development of green hydrogen as one of its key priorities on the road to becoming climate neutral by 2050. Even though there is huge interest in this area, there are still many technical challenges related to green hydrogen production that need to be overcome.
In the Fossil Free Future program, we are addressing these challenges by building a strong ecosystem that will support green hydrogen production. Notably, this includes the development of the efficient and smart power electronics required by the next generation of high-power electrolysis projects.
The Fossil Free Future program invites companies and research partners to join an ecosystem in which power electronics form the basis for developing fossil-free solutions for electric energy transition.
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