Climate change and CO2 emissions, air and noise pollution, oil shortage and rising prices prompt mobility to find new ways to move forward. In that setting, the term “electromobility” has significantly gained in importance. But what exactly is electromobility, what are its advantages and how is it going to develop in the future?
Electromobility refers to all means of transportation that are fully or partially driven electrically, derive their energy from a power grid and can store that energy on board. Such vehicles currently include electric cars, e-motorbikes, e-bikes, e-busses, and e-trucks. While electromobility is not a recent invention, the massive rise in electric-powered vehicles is the most disruptive transformation in the history of the automotive industry. The latter is confirmed by the continuous growth of the e-mobility market despite the economic slump resulting from the outbreak of the Corona pandemic last year. In Germany, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) sold more than tripled, increasing from 112,000 EVs in 2019 to 400,000 EVs in 2020, making Germany the second largest market for EVs, after China and followed by France and the United States (Roland Berger, 2021). The positive development of e-mobility in Europe can primarily be attributed to government support for EVs. On a global level, countries are competing in three key parameters: technology, industry and market.
Tighter governmental regulations on emissions steer further innovation and improvement in the industry. Nowadays, EVs are quiet, eco-friendly and can travel between 150 and 500 km on a single charge depending on the outside weather conditions, the usage of additional utilities, such as radio and air-conditioner, and the style of driving. Further advantages include the fast acceleration of the vehicle and the vehicle’s efficiency.
Even though EVs, including hybrids, are significantly more efficient than conventional cars, further optimization on minimizing power loss and maximizing power savings and overall performance must be done. Traveling further, faster and more efficient is the goal and power Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors are the means to achieve it. Thanks to higher switching speeds, better conductivity, and less energy losses, SiC devices convert electrical power in a more efficient and compact way compared to traditional silicon devices. Not only are SiC technologies boosting the travel distance of EVs but they are also essential to reducing the charging time.
Certainly, SiC semiconductors bring a great leap forward in power electronics. However, due to its extremely hard nature, certain challenges in the processing of SiC wafers into powerful semiconductors are present, including lengthy and very costly machining processes, among others. Having recognized the increasing need for grinding and polishing hard materials to perfection, Meister Abrasives elaborates on its expertise in semiconductor processing solutions to provide cutting-edge solutions. The brand’s latest innovation – the Ultra-Fine 6 (UF6) – is a powerful fusion between unparalleled quality and exceptional performance, that is unique to the market. SiC wafers ground with Meister Abrasives’ UF6 wheels exhibit reduced crystal damage, mirror-like surface and improved wafer geometry even on hard-to-cut materials. The technology allows manufacturers of prime wafers and devices to fully cut diamond slurry costs, slash the cost of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and drastically increase throughput. SiC wafers can be ground in less than ten minutes with fewer fabrication steps, completing the process in a fraction of the time.
Undoubtedly, Meister Abrasives’ technology will revolutionize not only the SiC semiconductor industry but more importantly, will drive significant improvement and future development to the electromobility sector. Employing Silicon Carbide is considered to be one of the most important factors in achieving powerful and efficient electronics. Electromobility presents a huge potential: with 10 million vehicles on the road in 2020, numbers by 2030 are predicted to increase to around 40 million, according to the IEA (Global EV Outlook, 2021). While there are still certain challenges to overcome before the advantages of the electric powertrain can be fully exploited, one thing is sure – the future belongs to electromobility and Meister Abrasives is a significant part of it.