Power is an essential element of the clean tech story. In a low-carbon future, power must be generated from clean sources, transmitted efficiently to end users, and consumed with as little waste as possible. This will only be possible with advanced power semiconductors.

Enter Power Integration (PI) with its advanced solutions.

Since 1998 PI has featured a technology known as EcoSmart, which nearly eliminates the power wasted by electronic products while they’re not in use. In 2021, the company estimated that the technology saved enough energy to power about 1.9 million U.S. homes for the entire year without any additional cost or change in end users’ behavior.

This ability will become more critical in the coming years as billions of new electronic devices, like USB charging ports, intelligent utility meters, networked thermostats, and other ‘IoT’ and smart home devices, are connected to the grid.

But the list of cleantech doesn’t end here, as PI also offers products used in electric vehicles. It also provides a more efficient transmission than traditional AC grids to process the power generated by wind turbines and solar arrays and transmit high-voltage DC power over long distances.

Power Integrations, Balu Balakrishnan, CEO, said, “PI has a role in every phase of humankind’s interaction with energy, from renewable energy generation to efficient energy transmission to efficient energy consumption.”

Defining the current period as ‘the Undiscovery of fire,’ Balakrishnan said that these are the times of significant change and can be labeled as humankind’s greatest megatrend ever.

“We are at a turning point where instead of burning fossil fuels, we are increasingly using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar plants. Driven by real, sustained consumer pressure following global climate change, there is a movement – underpinned in many cases by legislation – to reduce our carbon footprint and look at clean energy sources,” said Balakrishnan.

While there is growing momentum towards renewable energy sources due to legislation and consumer preference pressure, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is another factor driving the grid's electrification in Europe. While alternative sources of gas are being sought, another option is to expedite the use of renewables.

“Our IC solutions enable products as diverse as charges/adapters, TVs, appliances, metering, power tools, and electric scooters to easily surpass energy efficiency targets, mandatory or advisory, including ENERGY STAR, the EU EcoDesign Directive, and Chinese regulations, which are sometimes the most severe. Some of these products are based on our GaN technology, POWIGaN, which enables more efficient designs,” said Balakrishnan.

Power Integrations has developed highly efficient drivers for solar and wind inverters and is now addressing EVs with new silicon carbide (SiC) parts, which enable higher bus voltages, increasing EV range. Their BridgeSwitch motor drivers are reducing energy consumption in appliances like washers/dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, ceiling fans, and air conditioners.

The biggest challenge for most companies is how to address change. It’s the same with Clean Tech: change is needed to achieve a low-carbon future, but how can the new technologies be implemented easily, reliably, quickly, and cost-effectively?

Power Integrations addresses these concerns by selling highly integrated products that require fewer external components. By reducing complexity, they save engineering resources and lessen the burden of sourcing components, a considerable headache for makers of all electronic products.

Citing an example, Balakrishnan said, “We integrated GaN transistors into our InnoSwitch family of flyback power supply converter chips, increasing efficiency above previous-generation silicon-based devices by several percentage points. Yet we did not initially promote these new parts as ‘GaN-powered’ because we knew there was a feeling in the engineering community that these devices were difficult to use (drive) and would therefore require a great deal of time and effort to use effectively.”

But their InnoSwitch parts include all the circuitry necessary to drive the GaN transistors and reap the benefit of the increased efficiency, so designers did not have to learn new design practices. Now there is a rapid adoption of this crucial clean technology.

Elaborating on the statement – Industry-leading integration produces more efficient, reliable power solutions and reduces e-waste, Balakrishnan said, “Integration reduces e-waste. Each of our ICs eliminates the need for dozens of electronic components, such as resistors, diodes, and optocouplers, by integrating them into our silicon. Because of our high efficiency that we enable, we can eliminate the bulky metal heatsinks needed to dissipate wasted energy. So, we’re saving energy while reducing materials usage.

Usually, Power Integrations does not discuss their customers. Yet one customer was Anker, the leading charger/adapter maker. CEO Steven Yang said that Power Integrations highly integrated GaN-powered ICs enable their new Nano II smart mobile chargers to lead the world in power density.

Balakrishnan said about the market competition, “We believe the only way to stay ahead of the competition in our industry is simply to out-innovate them.”

Talking about the future, Balakrishnan said that Power Integrations does not publish roadmaps. However, they have a robust pipeline of new products and technologies that will enable them to double the size of their addressable market opportunity over the next five years, bringing their energy-saving technologies—such as GaN transistors—to an even more comprehensive range of applications.

Speaking about additional insights, Balakrishnan said, “Power Integrations is a recognized leader in energy efficiency and is a member of clean-tech stock indices. We have been named twice in the top 20 sustainable stocks by SustainableBusiness.com and have received an ENERGY STAR®  and a Star of Energy Efficiency awards.”