Silicon Carbide Hybrid Power Modules for Inverters

Onsemi and Sungrow have collaborated to integrate EliteSiC silicon carbide hybrid power modules into the Sungrow PowerTitan 3.0 energy storage platform. This engineering partnership addresses power conversion losses and thermal management constraints in utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS).

Industrial Energy Storage Efficiency Demands
Grid-scale storage facilities face rising throughput requirements driven by electrification and data center infrastructure buildouts. In high-power battery installations, minor conversion losses compound into significant operational expenditure over the asset lifecycle.

Overcoming these thermal and electrical losses requires semiconductor solutions capable of switching at high frequencies with minimal dissipation. Sungrow selected onsemi to combine system-level inverter engineering with wide-bandgap semiconductor manufacturing.

Technical Architecture and Module Integration
The PowerTitan 3.0 system incorporates onsemi high-density power integrated modules (PIMs) based on EliteSiC hybrid technology. These modules are integrated into a three-level inverter topology configured for high-power utility-scale conversion.

The hardware architecture supports power conversion units rated up to 450 kW. By combining silicon carbide devices with optimized packaging, the power integrated modules increase power density and elevate peak inverter conversion efficiency beyond 99.3 percent.

The engineering teams executed joint platform definition, electrical layout optimization, and rigorous qualification protocols. The resulting hybrid topology minimizes thermal resistance, allowing higher power density within the same physical enclosure while managing junction temperatures under heavy load cycles.

Deployment and Operational Performance
The integrated platform is engineered for large-scale utility grids requiring flexible capacity and rapid frequency response.

Compared to previous-generation platforms, the three-level architecture delivers a 0.4 percent improvement in inverter-level conversion efficiency. In a representative 100 MW operational battery installation, a 0.4 percent efficiency gain conserves more than 475 MWh of electricity annually by eliminating thermal waste during charge and discharge cycles. The improved thermal dissipation also provides higher continuous overload capability without accelerating semiconductor degradation.

“At utility scale, even small improvements in power conversion efficiency can have a meaningful impact on battery energy storage system (BESS) performance and total cost of ownership,” said Sergio Fissore, Vice President and General Manager, IPD Power Division, onsemi. “Our EliteSiC hybrid power module enables higher-efficiency, higher-density energy storage systems that help maximize usable energy and improve system reliability.”

Sungrow projects the deployment of 10 GWh of the PowerTitan 3.0 platform across Europe in 2026, delivering standardized conversion equipment for regional grid stabilization.

Edited by Evgeny Churilov, Induportals Media - Adapted by AI.

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