Mumbai,
November 01, 2022.
Jaguar Land
Rover and Wolfspeed, Inc. have today announced a strategic partnership to
supply Silicon Carbide semiconductors for next generation electric vehicles,
delivering increased powertrain efficiency and extended driving range.
Under its Reimagine strategy, Jaguar Land Rover is
transforming to an electric-first business, to become carbon net zero across
its supply chain, products, services, and operations by 2039.
Wolfspeed’s advanced Silicon Carbide
technology will be used specifically in the vehicles’ inverter, managing the
transfer of power from the battery to the electric motors. The first Range
Rover vehicles with this advanced technology will be available from 2024, and
the new all-electric Jaguar brand the following year.
The partnership builds
on Wolfspeed’s existing relationship with the race-winning Jaguar TCS Racing
team competing in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, where its advanced
Silicon Carbide technology has been used to accelerate on-track efficiency and
performance.
The agreement
is the latest in Jaguar Land Rover’s program of establishing strategic
partnerships with industry leaders for its future modern luxury vehicles: in
February 2022, Jaguar Land Rover announced a partnership with NVIDIA focused on
software-defined, advanced automated driving systems for next-generation
vehicles starting in 2025.
Thierry Bolloré, Chief
Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said:“We are not strangers having collaborated together with the Jaguar TCS Racing team
for the last five seasons. By developing that into a strategic partnership as
part of our Reimagine strategy, we can integrate Wolfspeed’s advanced Silicon
Carbide technology into our next generation electric vehicles, delivering
extended range and performance capabilities for our clients.”
Wolfspeed President
and CEO, Gregg Lowe, said: “Wolfspeed is proud to partner with
Jaguar Land Rover, supporting its bold commitment to electrify its iconic
brands by using Silicon Carbide’s superior performance, efficiency and range.
The energy efficiency of Silicon Carbide will play an essential role as Jaguar
Land Rover pursues its own zero carbon goals, and as the world transitions to
an all-electric transportation future.”
The partnership agreement sees Jaguar
Land Rover participate in the Wolfspeed Assurance of Supply ProgramTM,
to secure the supply of this technology for future electric vehicle production
needs. This will enable greater visibility and control over Jaguar Land Rover’s
future supply chain and is key to the new value chain approach of the company’s
operations and
supply chain under the leadership of Barbara Bergmeier, Executive Director of
Industrial Operations.
Wolfspeed’s world leading technology is
powering electric propulsion systems across the entire voltage spectrum – from
400V to 800V.The Silicon Carbide power device solutions will be produced at
Wolfspeed’s Mohawk Valley Fab in Marcy, New York, which opened in April 2022 as
the world’s largest 200mm Silicon Carbide fabrication facility. The fully
automated facility dramatically expands capacity for Wolfspeed's Silicon
Carbide technologies, which will supply the increasing demand for EV production
and other advanced technology sectors around the world.