SMARTPM · Smart Power Management in Home and Health

According to studies, worldwide energy consumption is rising dramatically and will double in the next 20 years and with it CO2 emission. The consequence will be an escalating price for energy and upcoming challenges for ensuring Europe´s energy supply.Reducing Energy Consumption through energy savings can save up to 30% of Europe’s predicted energy consumption. Achieving efficient use of energy, without restricting the customer, is the political, social and technical challenge of the next decade.The high level objective of the SmartPM project is therefore to develop application-specific, efficiency-optimized semiconductor power technologies enabling actual deployment of intelligent systems in large-scale, energy-critical application fields like home and health. Applications in these fields require innovative system architectures and circuit designs, new components, efficient power electronic technologies, and innovative module, interconnect and assembly technologies. An important aspect is the support and the compatibility of upcoming legislation and regulations for efficient use of energy.The SmartPM consortium will develop semiconductor technologies and module platforms enabling (a) intelligent motor drives for highly efficient controlled engines in industrial and home applications, and (b) efficient power supplies and power management solutions that will to consume up to 25% less energy by 2012. The technologies under investigation follow the “More than Moore” path based on Si, SOI and SiC and cover different voltage ranges including low voltage (< 100V), net voltage (120V – 400V) and high voltage (>1000V).The implementation of the project results will save up to 25% of the electrical energy consumption and CO2 emission without losing performance, comfort or safety. This will reduce Europe’s dependence on energy suppliers and increase economic competitiveness by creating new market sectors and innovative applications for Europe and the world.