ROHM Semiconductor has announced that Lucid, an advanced luxury electric vehicle company headquartered in California, is using its silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (SiC MOSFET) in the ground-breaking Lucid Air. The Wunderbox, the main on-board charging unit in the Lucid Air, integrates a DC-DC converter and the Bi-directional On-Board Charger (OBC), where an advanced power factor correction circuit is capable of operating at high switching frequencies thanks to the superior performance of the SiC MOSFET. The improved performance at high frequency and high temperature of ROHM’s SCT3040K and SCT3080K SiC MOSFETs have helped Lucid to reduce the size of the design, and to reduce power losses, which results in high charging efficiency.
Lucid’s mission is to inspire the adoption of sustainable energy by creating the most captivating electric vehicles, centered around the human experience. The company’s first car, Lucid Air, is a state-of-the-art luxury sedan with a California-inspired design underpinned by race-proven technology. Customer deliveries of Lucid Air, which is produced at Lucid’s new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, are underway. The Lucid Air was named the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Yearâ. Additionally, an independent article in InsideEVs confirmed the Lucid Air’s charging capabilities. For example, when connected to DC fast chargers, they found it takes approximately 22 minutes to deliver a charge which will enable select Lucid Air models to cover 300 miles. The SiC MOSFET switched OBC can deliver up to 19.2 KW AC charging, adding up to 80 miles of range per hour.
“It was important for Lucid to form strategic alignments with key EV power device suppliers to ensure our future success. ROHM is one of the world’s leading suppliers of SiC technology, with strong technical support. We were impressed with ROHM’s strategic investments to increase the production capacity of SiC products, and its development of next generation technologies,” said Eric Bach, Senior Vice President of Product and Chief Engineer, Lucid Group. “Lucid values the close collaborative relationship with ROHM in this work.”
Added Kazuhide Ino, ROHM’s Managing Executive Officer, CSO and Director of Accounting & Finance Headquarters: “We are excited to help Lucid develop systems for electric vehicles that maximize the potential of ROHM’s SiC MOSFETs. ROHM will continue to strengthen its SiC device lineup, delivering power solutions – such as the charging systems featured in the Lucid Air – that contribute to technological innovation in next-generation automobiles. New products soon to be added, include gate driver ICs that maximize device performance.”
