The Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductors silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) offering higher efficiency and higher power density compete against the dominating power semiconductor material silicon.

The advantages of WBG semiconductors on system level, higher voltage and temperature operation as well as higher switching frequency enabling volume and weight reduction, are related to fundamental material properties of these materials, e.g. electric field, energy gap, electron velocity, melting point and thermal conductivity.

Fast switching will become key in many applications because this will open a new generation of power electronics. Increasing the switching frequency enables the miniaturization of passive components for energy storage and filtering in power electronic systems. In a photovoltaic inverter, for example, the increase of switching frequency from 48 kHz to 250 kHz results in a weight and volume reduction by a factor of five.

After many years of research in SiC materials and device technology we see more and more devices entering the market from various suppliers in Europe, Japan and US. Now the research effort should focus on wide bandgap system integration involving all necessary technology steps along the value chain of WBG power electronics towards the systems and applications.

Robustness Validation describes a process how to design, develop, manufacture and test electronic devices, components and systems. It is a process based on the knowledge of the conditions of use (mission profile), the failure mechanisms as well as of accelerated models needed for accelerated tests

This involves a paradigm shift from "test for standards" to "test-to-fail". The physics-of-failure and end-of-life test approach requires a lot of new strategies and methods.

Power electronics is a key technology for the efficient conversion, control and conditioning of electric energy from the source to the load. The energy saving potential of power electronics in various applications is mainly related to highly efficient variable speed motor drives with energy recovery, to smart power supplies enabling high efficiency over a wide load range and zero-power standby function as well as to energy efficient and low-emission mobility with hybrid and full electric vehicles. The estimated energy savings potential that can be achieved by introducing power electronics into systems is enormous, more than 25% of the current electricity consumption in Europe.

Power electronics is a key technology for the grid integration of renewable energies e.g. in wind turbine converters, HVDC for offshore wind park connection, SVC/STATCOM for grid code compliance, energy storage for improving stability as well as PV solar inverters.

Power electronics is a key technology for e-mobility on the vehicle side as well as on the grid side. The on-board power electronic converters include the drive inverter, DC/DC converters and the battery charger. For the integration of electric vehicles to the power grid a  charging infrastructure is needed for the of electric vehicles.

Power electronics will have an increasing importance in the future energy systems especially with respect to the energy transition towards an electricity grid dominated by power electronics on the generation side as well as on the load side. The transition from fossil fuels with centralized generation to renewable energies with decentralized generation is already discussed since many years but now we are approaching a transition point where fluctuating renewables are dominating. The stabilization and control of such grids without strong 50Hz backbone provided by conventional generation is one major challenge.

For all relevant interfaces in the power grid e.g. for the vehicle-to-grid connection or for the grid integration of energy storage smart power electronics is needed.