Date: Jan 16, 2014 Author: press release Source: Company Data (
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Manufacturing currently accounts for 12% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, employs almost 12 million Americans, and has recently been targeted by the Obama administration as a crucial sector for economic growth and job creation. President Obama created the $200 million National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) to support the recent growth in domestic manufacturing, stimulate the technology sector, and ensure the continued economic and national security associated with having a strong advanced manufacturing sector. "This can be a breakthrough year for America," Obama said. "The pieces are all there to start bringing back more of the jobs that we've lost over the past decade…Manufacturing is a bright spot in this economy."
The North Carolina State University led Next Generation Power Electronics Innovation Institute (NGPEII) draws upon the wide band gap expertise of leaders in the field from the academic, government, and industrial sectors. The NGPEII includes the State of North Carolina, seven universities / national labs, and 18 companies, in addition to the headquarters at North Carolina State in Raleigh, NC. The institute aims to generate lower cost, more efficient energy solutions through the advancement of wide band gap semiconductor technology. In addition to the NGPEII's technical goals, it will serve as a bridge between the current research and design efforts being conducted at academic, corporate, and Federal institutions and the marketplace in which the new technologies can be implemented. The Department of Energy led NGPEII is the first of three manufacturing institutes that will be created under the NNMI; the other two, focused on Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation, Lightweight, and Modern Metal Manufacturing, are still in the selection process and will be led by the Department of Defense. The NGPEII is a $140 million initiative, which is comprised of a $70 million grant from the Department of Energy and at least 50% cost sharing from the collaborative team; the State of North Carolina is also helping launch the NGPEII by committing an additional $10 million over the course of five years.
APEI has always been a leader in demonstrating and manufacturing WBG solutions that offer more efficient, power dense solutions than traditional technology, and is extremely excited to be involved in an institute that will revolutionize the applications, affordability, and range of wide band gap materials. APEI is one of 25 partners that will be associated with the NGPEII and will serve as a medium- to low- volume wide band gap power module packaging foundry. APEI presently operates and maintains a wide band gap power module and power discrete facility in Fayetteville, Arkansas that is AS9100 aerospace certified and ISO9001 commercial certified manufacturing. APEI's wide band gap products currently consist of the HT-100, XT-1000, and HT-2000 series power modules that can be built with a wide range of device technologies, including MOSFETs, JFETS, HEMTs, and BJTs. The overall role in this program for APEI will be operating the aforementioned facility as a module packaging foundry for the NGPEII. Custom die can be inserted into APEI's standard module lines, or custom modules can be developed from scratch and manufactured, depending completely upon the needs of the partner. Over the course of 5 years, the grant and associated cost sharing will allow APEI to improve the its in-line testing capabilities, develop an automated ordering system to support its foundry services, and increase process automation. Modules developed through the NGPEII, as well as standard and custom modules, will be available for sale at www.apei.net.
Official Partner List:
Lead: North Carolina State University
Academic Partners: Arizona State University, Florida State University, University of California at Santa Barbara, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Industry Partners: II-VI, Inc.; ABB, Inc.; APEI, Inc.; Avogy, Inc.; Cree, Inc.; Delphi, LLC; Delta Products, Inc.; DfR Solutions, LLC; Gridbridge, Inc.; IQE, LLC; Deere & Company; Monolith Semiconductor, Inc.; RF Micro Devices, Inc.; Transphorm, Inc.; Toshiba International; United Silicon Carbide, Inc.; Vacon, Inc.; X-Fab Texas, Inc.;
National Labs: Naval Research Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory
