Danfoss, GE join forces in strategic collaboration

Mar. 29, 2017 – Danfoss Silicon Power has announced it is establishing production in the United States and is collaborating with industrial giant General Electric (GE).

The collaboration is part of a New York state initiative to develop next-generation semiconductor materials and packaging that promises smaller, faster and more efficient mobile devices. According to Danfoss, the silicon-carbide (SiC) power modules are expected to “revolutionize” the technology within solar and wind energy as well as the future generations of electric and hybrid cars. The parties say SiC power modules can reduce power consumption in electric cars by 10 per cent and the energy consumption in data centres by 5 per cent.

The private-public consortium and other similar programs were established in 2014 by the state of New York with a total investment of more than $20 billion for the creation of high-tech jobs.

Danfoss Silicon Power, based in Flensburg, Germany, will establish SiC power modules packaging operations in Utica, New York, by early 2018, and is expected to create hundreds of jobs in the coming years. GE will provide SiC chips for the modules.

The Utica facility will allow Danfoss Silicon Power to better serve its U.S. customer base, says Danfoss, adding that the facility will complement the output of its Flensburg, Germany, operations.

“This is a very important step for Danfoss, as the U.S. is our biggest market and essential to our business. The cooperation with GE has great strategic impact for Danfoss; it is important for our future growth plans in the U.S., and we have big expectations for the further developments in this highly-specialized area,” said Danfoss Executive Vice President and COO Kim Fausing.

GE says it has invested millions of dollars to develop ultra-thin SiC chips, which will be used in the power modules manufactured by Danfoss.