News: Microelectronics
10 November 2026
CGD partners with Ricardo on developing traction inverters for Nissan-led venture
Fabless firm Cambridge GaN Devices Ltd (CGD) — which was spun out of the University of Cambridge in 2016 to design, develop and commercialize power transistors and ICs that use GaN-on-silicon substrates — is working with Ricardo on their development of a high-efficiency GaN-based traction inverter.
Project SUITE (Sustainable Use of Integrated Technology for EVs) is a Nissan-led consortium and is a £10m UK Government-backed research initiative aimed at fundamentally changing how electric vehicles (EVs) are charged, powered and experienced. The project was awarded funding as part of the UK Government’s £4bn DRIVE35 program, delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Innovate UK.
CGD’s ICeGaN integrated circuit will be used in the inverter design to help deliver high efficiency, cost-effective, faster, low-loss switching and reduced energy consumption versus power semiconductor solutions currently adopted in EVs. ICeGaN overcomes the difficulties normally associated with incorporating and operating GaN as, due to a wide range of integrated features, it requires fewer additional components and operates using standard gate drivers. Furthermore, ICeGaN is claimed to be the only GaN technology that has achieved optimal current sharing when five or more devices are connected in parallel.
CGD’s engineering expertise in GaN technology will complement Ricardo’s in-house automotive experience and capabilities to help achieve the objective of designing and developing an advanced high-efficiency traction inverter.
As well as utilizing GaN for an efficient, optimized traction inverter design, Project SUITE will also see the incorporation of intelligent technologies around the vehicle that will bring benefits such as reduced and automated charging, longer range, and reduced energy bills.
The project “underlines the value and importance of practical, easily adoptable GaN technologies to the necessary, continued evolution of EVs, and in this instance specifically next-generation traction inverters,” says Dan Murphy, senior director product management. “The expertise and resource of the consortium members, UK government backing, and Nissan as the lead are all constituent parts that will drive a highly valuable and useable outcome,” he adds.
“Ricardo is a pioneer in the use of GaN semiconductor technology in high-power applications, and this project is the culmination of our R&D efforts over the last five years,” says Temoc Rodriguez, global technical expert in electric propulsion systems, at Ricardo. “This new product will be the first-of-a-kind for next-generation traction inverters that will operate at high efficiency at a reduced cost.”
CGD and NXP collaborate to accelerate time to market
CGD’s new 650V ICeGaN device for automotive applications helps increase EV range
Nexperia partners with Ricardo to produce technology demonstrator for GaN-based EV inverter
