IN Brief:
- onsemi and Geely have expanded their collaboration around EliteSiC power technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles.
- The work centres on Geely’s SEA-S architecture and support for next-generation 900V EV platforms.
- The agreement strengthens system-level integration between vehicle manufacturers and power semiconductor suppliers.
onsemi and Geely Auto Group have expanded their strategic collaboration to integrate EliteSiC power technologies across next-generation electric and hybrid vehicle platforms.
The collaboration centres on vehicles built on Geely’s SEA-S architecture, the Super Hybrid variant of its Sustainable Experience Architecture. Geely is also showcasing its SEA-S-based Super Electric Power system, which incorporates onsemi EliteSiC devices in the electric drive.
The technologies are intended to support higher-voltage 900V vehicle architectures, enabling faster charging, improved efficiency, longer driving range, and more consistent performance. onsemi says the integration can also support higher power density, allowing performance to be delivered through smaller and lighter systems while improving thermal behaviour under demanding driving conditions.
Silicon carbide has become a core technology for high-voltage electric vehicle powertrains because it can reduce switching losses and improve efficiency compared with conventional silicon devices. Those benefits become more pronounced as vehicle platforms move to higher voltages and as manufacturers balance charging speed, range, inverter size, cooling, and cost.
EV power electronics are now selected as part of platform architecture rather than as late-stage component choices. Semiconductor decisions influence vehicle voltage, battery design, inverter topology, thermal management, charging performance, packaging, and reliability targets. Earlier collaboration between automakers and device suppliers helps align those choices before the design becomes fixed.
Geely’s move toward 900V architecture follows a wider shift across the EV sector. Higher voltage allows a vehicle to move the same power with lower current, reducing resistive losses and easing thermal constraints in cables, connectors, inverters, and charging systems. It can also support faster charging when matched with suitable battery design and infrastructure. The trade-off is that insulation, safety, device qualification, and system protection become more demanding.
SiC devices sit at the centre of that trade-off. Their high-voltage switching capability, efficiency, and thermal performance make them attractive for main traction inverters, onboard chargers, and DC-DC conversion. SiC implementation still requires careful design around gate drive, electromagnetic interference, packaging parasitics, thermal interfaces, and short-circuit behaviour.
The collaboration also shows how EV manufacturers are trying to extract more performance from platform architectures rather than relying only on larger batteries. Larger packs add cost and weight, while charging infrastructure remains uneven across many markets. More efficient power conversion can extend range, reduce heat, and protect performance consistency without simply increasing battery capacity.
Power semiconductor decisions are increasingly platform decisions. The device, module, inverter, software control, cooling system, and mechanical package have to be designed as a coherent system. As EV powertrains mature, differentiation will come from integration across these layers rather than from any single component specification.
onsemi and Geely’s expanded collaboration shows how deeply silicon carbide is now being designed into the electrical and mechanical architecture of next-generation vehicles. The industry’s next phase will be shaped by the quality of that integration as much as by the underlying device technology.
