Infineon Technologies AG announced that the company provides its groundbreaking gallium nitride (GaN) technology for the next-generation of solar microinverters from Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems. Infineon’s CoolGaN bi-directional switch (BDS) technology enables significant enhancements in power output, energy efficiency, and system reliability for Enphase’s IQ9 Series Microinverters. For the new IQ9N-3P Commercial Microinverter, this helps simplify design complexity and lower installation and balance of system costs.
“As a market leader in power semiconductors, Infineon masters all relevant materials: silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitride,” said Adam White, Division President at Power & Sensor Systems at Infineon. “The development of GaN technology is a key part of our vision, offering the most efficient power semiconductor solutions for companies like Enphase to create high-performance, efficient applications to drive the widespread adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Together with Enphase, we further embark on our journey to foster decarbonization and reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.”
“Utilizing Infineon’s CoolGaN bi-directional switch technology allows us to service a much larger segment of the commercial market with our IQ9 Series Microinverters,” said Ron Swenson, Senior Vice President of Operations at Enphase Energy. “This teamwork highlights our commitment to ongoing innovation in the solar energy industry. We’re excited by the performance gains enabled by GaN-powered technology and look forward to deepening our long-term partnership with Infineon.”
The CoolGaN bi-directional switch technology from Infineon is revolutionizing the way of power conversion by allowing for single-stage power conversion. By replacing two or four unidirectional switches with a single bi-directional switch, that allows power flow in both directions, significant cost savings can be achieved while enabling the design of smaller, more efficient power devices. The BDS technology has demonstrated a significant reduction in power loss, outperforming conventional silicon switches by 68% and GaN unidirectional switches by 42%. Bi-directional switch technology based on GaN is a crucial component in a wide range of applications, including renewable energies PV and wind, energy storage systems (ESS), electric vehicle (EV) motor drives, on-board chargers, and AI servers that benefit from increased efficiency, density, and reliability.
The partnership reinforces both companies’ commitment to address the rapidly growing solar energy market. Globally, solar PV generation produced approximately 7% of total global electricity in 2024. The world is set to add more than 5500 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy capacity between 2024 and 2030 – almost three times the increase seen between 2017 and 2023. Solar PV alone is forecast to account for 80% of the growth in global renewable capacity by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) .
By achieving higher power output and efficiency, Enphase’s new microinverters can now service not only the residential solar market, but also a much larger portion of the commercial market. This expansion into new markets underscores the versatility and capabilities of Infineon’s GaN technology and its potential to drive growth and innovation in the renewable energy industry.
Infineon has a strong portfolio with more than 40 GaN product announcements in the last year and is a preferred partner for customers seeking high-quality GaN solutions. The company is on track with its implementation of scalable GaN manufacturing on 300-millimeter wafers which enables higher production capacity and faster delivery of high-quality gallium nitride products.
Learn more about Infineon CoolGaN bi-directional switches (BDS) here.
