August 30, 2023
For the fourth occasion, the U of A Power Group’s innovation has been acknowledged in the R&D 100 Awards, this time for their development of a 250 kilowatt all-silicon carbide motor drive for hybrid electric aircraft. The project, a collaboration with Ampaire Inc., a southern California-based electrified aircraft company, involved U of A researchers Alan Mantooth, Yue Zhao, David Huitink, and Chris Farnell, who focused on various aspects of the motor drive’s development, including electrical and mechanical engineering, controls, and communications. Nenad Miljkovic from the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign also contributed, leading the thermal-management design.
Supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E CIRCUITS program, the motor drive garnered attention at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Denver in 2022. Contributions from Wolfspeed enhanced the drive’s development with advanced silicon carbide and GaN technologies, while Ampaire facilitated the development phase and conducted a successful test flight on February 20. This innovation stands to make significant impacts in the aeronautics industry.