Leading global automotive supplier, Marelli, has launched the first power module for motorsports electric and hybrid traction applications. The new module called EDI (Enhanced Direct-cooling Inverter) is fully based on Silicon Carbide (SiC) technology. The new technology enables conversion efficiencies of up to 99.5 percent, 50 percent reduction in weight and size and 50 percent higher heat dissipation into cooling system.

Completely developed in the company’s Corbetta facility in Italy, it uses  a new direct cooling solution. The company claims this system will be the core building block for efficient, compact and lighter inverters.

It was developed by Marelli Motorsport with the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM and features an innovative structural design that drastically reduces the thermal resistance between the SiC components and the liquid coolant, thanks to a new baseplate-less solution.

Riccardo De Filippi, SVP and CEO, Marelli Motorsport said: “As Marelli Motorsport, our mission is to promote technological advancements that can first of all be decisive on racetracks, and at the same time enable next-generation technologies also for the road cars of tomorrow. Specifically, in the electric powertrain field, we can build on our strong experience as pioneers of cutting-edge solutions for F1 and Formula E, as well as early adopters of SiC technologies.”

Over the last years, Silicon Carbide has proven to be a technology of choice for high voltage and high-temperature power electronics devices such as inverters, being able to grant excellent performance in hybrid and full electric applications. It enables in fact smaller, lighter and more efficient solutions. These features become even more crucial when it comes to motorsports, where size, weight and efficiency are definitely major design drivers.

This is a step forward for Marelli in the field of electric powertrain, which is focused on development of motorsport and road vehicles applications.