Cree cooperates with Germany ZF Friedrichshafen for efficient electric drive development

Cree announced its strategic partnership with Germany ZF Friedrichshafen for highly efficient electric drivelines development.

With this strategic partnership, ZF and Cree are strengthening their current cooperation. Cree’s technology will be first used to fulfill orders that ZF has  already received for silicon carbide based electric drives from several famous car makers. In this way, ZF expects to make silicon carbide electric  drivelines available to the market by 2022.

The future use of silicon carbide-based power semiconductors will increase the range for electric vehicles compared with current standard silicon technology. 

Due to high battery costs, the efficient electric drive represents a great growth potential for the near future. In particular,silicon carbide technology  along with the 800-volt vehicle electrical system voltage makes a huge help to further increasing efficiency. Electrified drivelines are making great support to meet worldwide emission targets and amke mobility more sustainable.

Since January 2016, ZF has combined its electromobility activities in the E-Mobility Division headquartered in Schweinfurt, Germany. More than 9,000  employees in this division work across different locations around the world.

Cree is decicated to leading the global transition from silicon to silicon carbide and recently announced silicon carbide capacity expansion with a mega  materials factory in Durham, N.C. and the world largest silicon carbide device factory in New York. The company offers a comprehensive set of silicon carbide  and GaN (Gallium nitride) power and RF (radio frequency) solutions.

Cree technology will initially be used to fulfill orders that ZF has already received for silicon carbide based electric drives from several leading global car makers. Through the partnership, ZF plans to make silicon carbide electric drivelines available to the market by 2022.