Date: Jul 16, 2014 Author: Larry Rulison Source: Columbus CEO (
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The $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium that the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering launched on Tuesday with General Electric Co. will develop special power control microchips made of silicon carbide — one of the most promising materials in the energy market.
Silicon carbide, which is used in car brakes and bulletproof vests, is also more efficient and durable than the silicon that is used today to make the tiny power chips currently used in cars, airplanes and electric grid systems.
The chips can also be used in solar electric inverters, wind turbines and electric cars.
The bottom line is that these tiny power chips — essentially electronic switches — can be made smaller, lighter and will do even more work than they do today while standing up to higher electric currents.
''Silicon carbide can help do that," GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said during the announcement at GE Global Research in Niskayuna. "You know, this is one of the keys to get a point or two of efficiency in the renewable solar and wind space which is game-changing... It can take 1,000 pounds out of a Boeing Dreamliner, which drives fuel efficiency and makes new technologies more affordable."
The NanoCollege had previously tried to land a $140 million federal grant from the Obama administration for a similar, $470 million power electronics manufacturing institute that would have included GE as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other out-of-state entities. However, that institute was awarded to North Carolina State University in January.
On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature moved forward with New York's own power electronics consortium with $135 million in state money. The consortium is expected to involve dozens of other companies that will contribute $265 million.
The market for silicon carbide power switches is expected to grow from roughly $100 million this year to $800 million in 2020, according to Yole Developpement, a French semiconductor research firm.
GE, which will contribute $100 million to the five-year program, much of it consisting of intellectual property, currently makes silicon carbide devices on 4-inch wafers in its clean room at GE Global Research in Niskayuna.
GE Global Research spokesman Jim Knapp said the NanoCollege and GE will equip a new 6-inch silicon carbide wafer processing line at the NanoCollege's Albany campus, making it the most advanced manufacturing line of its kind and putting the lab at the forefront of silicon carbide development worldwide.
''The fabrication technology is extremely complex, involving hundreds of process steps," Knapp said. "These are processes that took well over a decade to develop, which will be shared with (the NanoCollege) and future partners the technology will attract.
The effort is expected to create 500 new jobs in the Capital Region.
Several local companies specialize in silicon carbide devices, including Aymont Technology in Ballston Spa, which makes machines that are used to produce silicon carbide wafers.
Its CEO, Larry Rowland, used to work at GE Global Research and attended North Carolina State.
''This announcement is huge for the region," said Rowland, who expects to be a part of the new consortium. "They are focusing on a key area with broad applications for saving energy and creating the kind of jobs that upstate New York needs. The consortium will help build a world-class ecosystem in the technology in which my company works."
