Recipient organisationGe Energy Power Conversion UK Limited
Funding£2.0M
PeriodFeb 2022 — Jul 2024
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
GE’s engineers are embedding high-volume, low-cost electronics directly inside electric motors to shrink industrial power systems by up to 50% in size and 25% in weight. The problem is straightforward: as ships, factories, and energy infrastructure electrify to cut greenhouse gas emissions, they run out of space for the bulky power electronics, motors, and cabling needed. Simply adding bigger equipment is not an option. Current high-power electrification technology is mostly developed for cheap, high-volume consumer goods made outside the UK, leaving British suppliers unable to compete on cost or power density for large industrial systems. If this project succeeds, UK manufacturers could lead in making compact, integrated power systems for marine, energy, and process industries. A ship operator, for example, could fit more cargo or batteries in the space freed up by a smaller motor-drive unit, while paying less for installation and ancillary gear. The supply chain gains a time-sensitive opportunity to capture growing global markets in high-value industrial electrification, rather than ceding them to overseas competitors.
View original technical description
Demand for electrification technologies and systems (including power electronics, electrical machines, drives, automation and control systems) is growing. This growth is both i) to meet increased demand for electric power in industrial applications including marine, energy, infrastructure and process industry sectors, and ii) to enable reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through higher levels of energy efficiency and integration of cleaner energy sources.\r\n\r\nHowever, this growth in electric power demand and the need to incorporate additional hybrid and electric equipment onto more platforms with space constraints means that we have to reconsider power density (we can't just keep adding bigger equipment) and the ability to integrate a power network or micro grid which doesn't add unnecessary complexity or cost.\r\n\r\n**This project focuses on GE's and its UK supply base's ability to lead in industrial electrification by both differentiating on power density _and_ competing on cost more effectively.** We will do this by applying novel production techniques and technology used in low voltage (LV), low power, high volume PE, integrating such converter technology within rotating machines (RM) for a transformative impact on system power density and complexity for lower volume but high performance and high-value sectors. There is an identified potential to reduce total system power density by up to 50% and weight by up to 25%, with additional added value creation for customers in freeing up space for operational use and reducing the cost and installation time of ancillary equipment.\r\n\r\nAside from specialist industrial niches in which the UK supply chain has a strong history and share, much electrification technology development recently has been targeted at consumer products at lower power but higher volume and lower cost, and supplied outside of the UK. As a growth market, expansion of electrification to more large, high power applications is attractive to the UK supply base in reaching larger niches and markets, but also to global providers, so this is both a time-sensitive opportunity UK industry to improve competitiveness _and_ achieve technology leadership.
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