VW orders SiC semiconductors for SSP vehicles from Onsemi
The SSP is the Scalable Systems Platform on which VW intends to launch the next fundamentally new generation of its electric cars on the market from 2028 – such as the electric flagship Trinity or the ninth generation of the VW Golf, which are to be purely electric on the basis of the SSP. The SSP is to be characterised by lower costs, longer ranges, shorter charging times and countless driving assistants – for models in numerous vehicle segments.
Modules with SiC semiconductors are installed in the ‘PowerBox’ of the SSP in various power levels, “from high power to low power traction inverters,” as Onsemi writes. This means that the ‘PowerBox’ can be equipped to suit a wide variety of models. Onsemi will also build the silicon carbide semiconductors for this in the new plant in the Czech Republic.
The new EliteSiC M3e MOSFETs, which Onsemi recently presented, are used for this. With this new generation of SiC semiconductors, Onsemi aims to pack more power into a smaller package. “The inclusion of three integrated half-bridge modules mounted on a cooling channel will further improve system efficiency by ensuring heat is effectively managed from the semiconductor to the coolant encasement. This leads to better performance, improved heat control, and increased efficiency, allowing EVs to drive further on a single charge,” Onsemi explains. And: VW should be able to ‘easily switch to future EliteSiC-based platforms’ when they come onto the market.
“By offering a complete power system solution that encompasses the entire power sub-assembly, we provide Volkswagen Group with a single, simplified modular and scalable platform that maximizes efficiency and performance for their vehicle lineup,” says Hassane El-Khoury, President and CEO of Onsemi. “This new approach allows for the customization of power needs and the addition of features for different vehicles without compromising on performance, all while reducing cost.”
“We are very pleased to have onsemi as a strategic supplier for the power box of the traction inverter for our first tranche in the SSP platform,” says Dirk Große-Loheide, Board Member for Purchasing at the Volkswagen brand and member of the extended Group Management Board. “onsemi has convinced us with a deeply verticalized supply chain from the growth of the raw material up to the assembly of the power box.”
And probably also with the previous products, as Onsemi had already received a major semiconductor order from VW at the beginning of 2023. At the time, there was talk of it being used in a ‘next-generation VW electric platform’. This was too early for the SSP; this order is more likely to be for the PPE or the revised MEB+, both of which are due to go into production well before the SSP.
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