At electronica India 2024, Electronics Media Editor Pratibha Rawat had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Boris Golubovic, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Littelfuse. During the interview, Boris shared valuable insights on the strategic focus on sustainability, electrification, and innovation, the unique dynamics of the Indian market and how Littelfuse is adapting to the rapid rise of AI and other emerging technologies. He highlighted how the TTape device is revolutionizing battery management by extending battery life. Below is an excerpt from the conversation:
What are your main management challenges for 2024?
Boris Golubovic: At Littelfuse, our core mission is to stay closely connected with our customers. One of the biggest challenges we face is to adapt rapidly changing engineering environment, driven by trends such as AI, electric vehicles (EVs), and the general electrification of industries. However, this is exactly what we’re passionate about. We help our customers to solve their most complex challenges in these emerging sectors.
What are the technologies and markets you are focusing on, especially to Indian market?
Boris Golubovic: India is, in many ways, a key driver of electrification trends globally. One of the major growth areas we continue to see is in electric vehicles (EVs). However, the EV landscape here differs somewhat from what we observe in Western markets like Europe or North America, where the focus is predominantly on four-wheelers. In India, the emphasis is more on two-wheelers and three-wheelers, which form a unique market segment. This segment drives innovation in a distinct way, though in some sense, the underlying principles of electrification are quite similar to those in other parts of the world.
What’s the difference between TTape and discrete thermistors in terms of temperature monitoring?
Boris Golubovic: TTape platform is a great example of how working closely with our customers leads to innovation. We talked about electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries in transportation, but we’re also seeing applications in buildings and energy storage. One of the major challenges with EV systems is that the battery is the most expensive part of the system. Extending the battery’s lifetime is crucial for customers to maximize their investment.
That’s where our TTape technology comes in. It was developed to complement what NTCs (Negative Temperature Coefficient) thermistors do. NTCs measure temperature very accurately at a specific point, but it’s challenging to apply them to measure every cell in a battery pack. TTape device addresses this by offering a simple solution for monitoring the temperature of each individual cell.
This technology is truly revolutionary compared to what was previously available. With just two electrical contacts, customers can now easily measure the temperature of each cell, helping them extend the life of their batteries. It’s an important advancement because the larger the investment in a battery, the more critical it is to preserve it. This solution not only helps customers get a better return on their investment but also contributes to sustainability by reducing the need for premature battery replacement.
How will you distinguish the Indian market from other global regions?
Boris Golubovic: India is unique in many ways. We often talk about products like two-wheelers and three-wheelers, which are distinct to the Indian market and are driving innovation globally. But India has also been a knowledge hub for many global companies, contributing significantly to advancements worldwide.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how it’s different, but India’s rapid industrialization, electrification, and growing investments in the industry have certainly brought their own set of challenges and opportunities. This requires us to adapt to fast-moving local changes while addressing technical issues that are both unique to India and similar to those elsewhere.
In many senses, India is now becoming a global driver of technical know-how. Many of our global customers, as well as Littelfuse, have a significant presence here to engage with and benefit from this vibrant ecosystem.
The Littelfuse Shanghai, China team has successfully incorporated sustainability into its operations. What other sustainability approaches can we expect from Littelfuse in the future, particularly in the global market?
Boris Golubovic: Sustainability is one of the key strategic pillars for Littelfuse, and it’s not about tackling one project at a time. Sustainability touches many areas of our organization. For example, we’re making our buildings more sustainable by reducing water usage and incorporating renewable energy.
Another critical aspect is starting sustainability right at the product design phase. We focus on making products smaller, easier to dispose of, and using more sustainable materials. This approach extends through the entire lifecycle of our products. Sustainability has now become a core part of our engineering practices across the company.
What are some key trends you see shaping the future of electronics, and how is Littelfuse positioning itself to lead in these areas?
Boris Golubovic: I think the most important thing is to stay flexible when new developments arise. Littelfuse has a very broad product portfolio, which gives us numerous opportunities to respond to customer needs and adapt to changes in the market. One of the more surprising developments has been how quickly AI has emerged.
We touched on this earlier—it has required us to adapt our products very rapidly. For example, we had to make our components smaller and capable of handling more current to support the miniaturization of AI equipment. This shift happened much faster than we anticipated, and it’s a trend we expect will continue. Moving forward, we foresee more of these rapid changes happening, perhaps even more frequently than in the past.
Would you like to share something about Littelfuse power semiconductor portfolio?
Boris Golubovic: It’s a broad portfolio, and as power conversion becomes more prevalent, it’s critical to our future. We continue to enhance our offerings by integrating them with other products in our portfolio. We’ve seen exciting customer projects across a variety of sectors.
Earlier, we discussed sustainability, renewable energy, and battery storage. All of these systems rely heavily on power conversion, and they also require robust protection solutions. This is a very dynamic space, and we’re finding new opportunities to innovate and support our customers as they navigate these emerging challenges.
