'Scarce' Power Semiconductors for Electric Vehicles, Third in the World Developed and Successfully Localized

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute Introduces Major Research Achievements on the 30th

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Recently, Korean researchers have succeeded in developing power semiconductors for electric vehicles, which have been experiencing a shortage, becoming the third in the world to achieve localization.

On the 30th, the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) announced this while unveiling the ‘Four Core Future Mobility Technologies Based on Electrical Technology.’ On this day, KERI briefed on recent major research achievements including ‘SiC (Silicon Carbide) power semiconductors for electric vehicles,’ ‘Land-Based Test Site (LBTS) for electric ships,’ ‘Localization of electric engines for drones/flying cars,’ and ‘Liquid hydrogen production and long-term storage technology.’ These technologies are attracting attention as the axis of future mobility is shifting from fossil fuel engines to electric power.

According to KERI, the so-called ‘Electrification’ is accelerating recently, where electricity becomes central in most industries and daily life. In the future mobility sector, the driving force is shifting from conventional fossil fuel engines to electric technology, and accordingly, many countries worldwide are fiercely competing for technological supremacy to lead the related market.

The SiC power semiconductor developed by KERI plays a role similar to human muscles by controlling current direction and managing power conversion. In electric vehicles, it is an essential component used in high-performance inverters that connect batteries and electric motors, improving energy efficiency by 10% based on excellent material properties. Due to high technological barriers, only a few advanced countries’ companies monopolized this technology. Recently, with the global supply shortage, technological independence became urgent, and KERI attracted great attention by developing the ultra-high difficulty ‘Trench MOSFET’ technology as the third in the world (Germany-Japan-Korea), not only realizing localization but also solving supply shortage issues.

System Control Research Center at Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, operating the Land-Based Test Site (LBTS) for electric ships.

The Land-Based Test Site for electric ships is, as the name suggests, a place to test electric ships on land. It is a core facility completed in 2015 as the first in Korea and the third in the world (USA-UK-Korea). Electric ships have propulsion systems installed underneath, and when failures or problems occur, maintenance is difficult, often requiring disassembly of the ship for repairs. However, through KERI’s test site, pre-performance verification processes are conducted, resulting in significant effects such as shortening shipbuilding periods and reducing losses from electrification delays. Including technology import substitution and related industrial development, the total ripple effect exceeds 500 billion KRW.

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute has achieved localization of core drone components, including motors and generators.

The localization of electric engines for drones/flying cars is an achievement of independently developing ‘motors’ and ‘generators’ that propel manned and unmanned aircraft using electric power instead of conventional fossil fuel-based aircraft engines for the first time in Korea. It successfully met the most important conditions in this field: ‘low noise,’ ‘stability,’ and ‘high power output,’ and solved safety and security issues caused by the use of foreign components through localization. The goal is to develop a 10kW-class motor and a 100kW-class generator with safety sufficient for human passengers within three years through continuous research, enabling Korea to lead the flying car industry.

Liquid hydrogen production and long-term storage technology is regarded as a major achievement that resolves the explosion risks of conventional gaseous hydrogen and significantly contributes to the activation of the future hydrogen economy and realization of carbon neutrality policies. KERI developed ‘Zero Boil-off’ technology that cools hydrogen gas to an extremely low temperature (-253 degrees Celsius) to produce liquid hydrogen and enables long-term storage without loss. This technology enhances hydrogen storage safety, securing community acceptance and enabling long-distance transportation and broad utilization of hydrogen.

Liquid hydrogen production and long-term storage cooler developed by Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute.

Myung Sung-ho, President of KERI, said, “Mobility is a field that greatly affects the lives of our people and Korean industry, and electrification is progressing faster here than anywhere else,” adding, “We will do our best to produce tangible results that the public and companies can feel.”

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This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.