New EU research project Power2Power launched

On June 5, 2019, the major European research project “Power2Power” was launched at Infineon Technologies in Dresden with the participation of the HSZG, represented by Professor Sophia Keil, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management, and her research group. ARD and MDR also reported on June 5 about the launch of the research project, featuring remarks from, among others, Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer.

Over the next three years, 43 partners from eight countries will research and develop innovative power semiconductors with higher power density and energy efficiency. Power semiconductors are needed in all phases of energy conversion: generation, transmission, and consumption. More efficient semiconductors make an important contribution to reducing carbon dioxide emissions despite the world’s growing energy demand. Universities, research institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, and international corporations are participating in this collaboration. Infineon Technologies Dresden GmbH & Co. KG is coordinating this project under the leadership of Dr. Oliver Pyper.

The budget for the Power2Power project totals approximately 74 million euros. Two-thirds of this amount is allocated to the German partners. The European Union is funding the collaboration as part of the ECSEL (Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership) program. Funding from Germany is provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as well as the states of Saxony and Thuringia. The partners from the other seven countries are also funded by their respective national authorities.

Following the iDev40 project, Sophia Keil and her team are now involved in their second European research project of this scale. In Power2Power, Professor Keil is once again leading the work package “Automation and Logistics in the Digitized Manufacturing of Power Electronics.” The goal of this work package is to optimize the entire ECS (Electronic Components and Systems) supply chain and production logistics for the manufacture of power electronics and its pilot lines using automation and digitalization. To this end, the interfaces between suppliers and the manufacturer, within the manufacturing process, and between the manufacturer and the end customer are being designed to create seamless connections. This is being done in close collaboration with the project partners, particularly those from industry.

Power2Power is a European, co-funded innovation project for the semiconductor industry. The project receives funding from the European research and innovation program H2020, the ECSEL Joint Undertaking and national funding authorities from eight participating countries under Grant Agreement No. 826417. Participating countries are Austria, Finland, Germany including the Free States of Saxony and Thuringia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland.