French EMS providers looking to accelerate manufacturing of power electronics
Three major French EMS provider – ACTIA, ALL Circuits and LACROIX – are launching the PREMS (PoweR Electronic Manufacturing Services) project as they look to accelerate the manufacturing of power electronics for the next-generations of EVs in France.
The new generations of SiC and GaN components are at the heart of hybrid and electric vehicle architectures. However, they raise technological and industrial challenges that must be addressed as soon as possible, in order to ramp up production by 2025.
These challenges are multiple and sometimes difficult to reconcile, such as integration, reliability, reparability and even recycling, while still ensuring compatibility with the cost/volume constraints of the automotive industry. The PREMS program is looking to address specifically the assembly, control and testing processes of these new power functions, a press release reads.
The program will run over a three-year period and based on project sprints linked to the progress of R&D work in the automotive industry. The ultimate goal is that PREMS will provide the automotive industry with the production know-how in France by 2024 – in order to support the increase in the volume of electric vehicles expected between 2025 and 2030.
”The automotive value chain is undergoing a profound transformation due to the rapid development of electrification and the arrival of SiC and GaN components. This dual technological and demand disruption is an opportunity that the automotive industry must seize to strengthen its industrialization capabilities in France and the resilience of the entire value chain,” Renaud Hanus, CTO at ACTIA, in the press release.
With a budget of EUR 2.25 million – shared equally between the project partners – PREMS is supported by the Power Electronics program and funded by France Relance. The project's coordination and steering are entrusted to the We Network Technical Center, which has been leading cooperative projects in the electronics assembly industry in France since 2016.
”The stakes of the development of the electric vehicle for the electronics industry exceed the response capacities of individual players. Cooperation between the main leaders in automotive electronics subcontracting is essential to accelerate our response to this major challenge for Made in France,” says Arnaud Nicolas, R&D Director at ALL Circuits, in the press release.
