EV V2G Standards, IGBTs Remain Relevant, First Electric Aircraft Hit the Market

What you’ll learn:

• How the Linux Foundation is using an open-source initiative to accelerate the development of interoperable standards for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) EV chargers.
• Electric aviation has moved from theory to reality as the first commercially available battery-powered trainer aircraft enters the market.
• Innovations in IGBT technology are highlighted in this month’s ProductBites.
• If you plan to attend the 2025 APEC conference in Atlanta, ED’s Lee Goldberg invites you to join him for coffee at one of our (in)famous reader/editor meetups.

While it may be a decade or more before electric airliners begin to enter mainstream markets, some of the pilots who will be flying them are already receiving their primary flight training in battery-powered trainers. Here’s a quick preview of the latest e-trainer, which promises to lower the cost, and the carbon footprint, of pilot training.

Can the Linux Foundation’s Energy Initiative help untangle the fractured patchwork of protocols and grid codes that make vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems so difficult to standardize? A recent partnership with the IEA will use the LF’s open-source approach to energy-related protocols to resolve interoperability problems between EVs and charging stations—and between charging stations and the power providers that feed them.

If you're planning on attending the 40th Annual Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), March 16-20 in Atlanta, please consider joining Electronic Design’s Lee Goldberg (and other surprise guests) for one of our (in)famous Reader/Editor meetups. These lively gatherings feature free coffee and a chance to exchange news, knowledge, and the hottest industry gossip with other members of the ED community.

ProductBites

This month’s product showcase highlights advances in IGBT technology, which enable silicon devices to provide efficient, rugged, and cost-effective alternatives to SiC and GaN devices in many applications. We also share an innovative BLDC/PMSM motor controller development kit, plus a couple of products that can help you bring more reliability, ruggedness, and isolation to high-voltage/high-power designs.

IGBT Advances

These days,  SiC, GaN, and other wide-bandgap technologies seem to be garnering most of the power community’s attention. As a result, it’s easy to forget that innovations in plain-old silicon devices continues to make them a very efficient and cost-effective choice for many applications. This is especially true for the humble IGBT, whose continued evolution is exemplified by two of this month’s highlighted products.

GaN Made Easy

A new development kit makes it easier and more cost-effective to develop precise, efficient motor-control solutions for brushless DC (BLDC) and permanent-magnet synchronous-motor (PMSM) applications that include white goods, ceiling fans, refrigerators, compressors, and pumps.

Rugged Circuits

Advances in service architecture and semiconductor process technology are making it possible to produce gate drivers, Schottky diodes, and other advanced power devices that offer improved protection, voltage margins, and thermal characteristics.

Passive Innovations

High-efficiency, shielded power inductors are critical for small-form-factor designs.