Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups in the automotive industry. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 3 promising Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductors solutions.
Heat Map: 3 Top Wide Bandgap Semiconductors Startup
For our 3 picks of startups, we used a data-driven startup scouting approach to identify the most relevant solutions globally. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 3 interesting examples out of 240 relevant solutions. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.
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GaN Systems – Semiconductors In Hybrid & Electric Vehicles
Power electronics is the most costly system in an electric vehicle (EV), after the battery. The use of SiC-based semiconductors in an EV comprises components such as drive inverters, onboard charging devices, wireless charging, DC-to-DC converters, auxiliary unit inverters. GaN Systems, a Canadian Series C funded startup, provides GaN semiconductors across multiple applications in the EV power electronics segment. It claims the total power loss reduction to be 50%, 20% lower system cost and 3X more power density.
SLD Laser – LED Lighting
The use of wide bandgap semiconductors in blue light LEDs is common. GaN-based LED laser light has many advantages as a light source in automotive LiDAR applications as it consumes less power, provides high-speed communication and higher optical illumination, and takes up little space. US-based SLD Laser, a deep tech company founded by industry pioneers including Nobel laureate Dr. Shuji Nakamura, offers semi-polar GaN-based light sources for LiDAR, HUD and other automotive lighting system applications.
Norstel AB – High-Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) For Radar Imaging
GaN-based HEMT technology finds its application in radars, 5G, and other areas. The use of WBG-based HEMT devices enhances the observation range of radar by 2 times and, together with MIMO, CMOS and other technologies, these devices can potentially eliminate the necessity of LiDAR in an autonomous vehicle. Swedish Norstel AB, which received major investment from STMicroelectronics, claims that deployment of HEMT epitaxy on SiC can enable the targeted performance of Radar systems at high frequency.
What About The Other 237 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence for your Proof of Concept (PoC), partnership, or investment targets. The 3 startups showcased above are promising examples out of 240 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria and collaboration strategy, get in touch.
