TI highlight energy infrastructure in its sustainability-focused electronica 2024

A big part of this drive into a more intelligent and sustainable future is found within the energy infrastructure sector where TI has created a vision for how this sector can be revolutionised. TI are confident that MCUs and advanced materials such as GaN are key to achieving this.

To learn more about this, Electronic Specifier’s Harry Fowle spoke with Henrik Mannesson, General Manager of WW Grid Infrastructure & Industrial Systems at Texas Instruments.

Understanding the 4 key areas

Mannesson was quick to explain how TI see the potential changes within the energy infrastructure industry: “We have identified 4 key technology areas that are key targets for impact.” These are:

• Improving processing power and connectivity
• Expanding current and voltage sensing capabilities
• Improving the efficiency of energy sources
• Advancing battery management systems for the next stage

The F29H85x series with new C29 core

When it comes to improving process power and connectivity within the renewable energy sector, Mannesson highlighted that at its core this process comes down to “improving the intelligence so that it can proactively respond to changes within the grid.” Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are intermittent. Real-time control can optimise their integration by adjusting energy flows based on availability, ensuring minimal waste. To address this, TI has recently introduced its new C2000 MCU DSP core, which “more than doubles the real-time control performance of previous generations.” The F29x family of devices addresses the industry's transition to wide-bandgap technologies, such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride. These materials are utilised to enhance efficiency and power density, making a single chip that combines high-performance real-time control with housekeeping functions a highly desirable solution.

Improving current & voltage sensing

Hall effect sensing and shunt sensing are nothing new, and something that TI has been involved with for some time. Each with their own perks and drawbacks, one thing remains consistent, the need for additional processing power on top, something that is especially true when it comes to solar energy arc fault detection. “Detecting arc faults is becoming increasingly important as higher voltages are going into homes,” explained Mannesson, “this demands safety improvements.”

TI is addressing this with its TMS320F28P55x (P55x) series, a real-time microcontroller with integrated neural processing unit which accelerates arc fault detection. “By having a dedicated NPU with machine learning, you are able to detect arc faults with accuracy up to 99% in solar panel systems,” says Mannesson. For comparison, traditional arc fault detection methods typically involve analysing current signals in the frequency domain and applying threshold-based rules to identify arc faults. However, this rules-based approach has limitations in both adaptability and sensitivity, particularly as devices age. Without integrating Edge-AI capabilities, the accuracy of detection is generally constrained to a range of 80–85%.

“On top of this, a dedicated NPU means lowered latency and power consumption, owing to the fact that more tasks are completed on the Edge.” The NPU in the P55x series offloads work from the main CPU which achieves five to 10 times lower latency.

Utilising the power of GaN for efficient solar

Thanks to GaN’s meteoric rise in the power industry as of late, improving the efficiency of solar inverters has never been more fruitful. Mannesson highlighted TI’s 10-kW GaN-based single-phase string inverter with battery energy storage which showcases the advantages of GaN technology in solar energy applications. By enabling higher switching frequencies, GaN significantly reduces the size of components like EMI filters and heat sinks, achieving a compact power density of 2.5 kW/L. The integration of top-side cooled GaN FETs further enhances thermal performance, ensuring efficient energy conversion in both PV and battery stages.

The use of GaN technology also improves overall system efficiency by minimising energy losses, making it ideal for high-power solar applications. This design highlights GaN’s ability to deliver fast switching speeds, compact designs, and reliable performance, meeting the demands of modern solar systems that combine energy generation and storage in limited spaces.

Finishing the solution with BMS

Whilst levelling up the aforementioned areas is great on its own, to offer a complete solution you must also include a place to store your efficiently-gained energy, ready for use. “The renewables market needs improved energy storage systems that are up-to-date, it is vital to its success,” said Mannesson. Solar power isn’t a 24 hour solution after all – the sun does go down! There are certain times of the day, especially following sunset, where power generation is low but power consumption is high, this is where strong BMS solutions are key.

This is where TI is creating solutions for a 1500V grid-scaled battery management system (BMS) featuring accurate cell monitoring, current measurement, and battery module control.

By combining this solution with all the above mentioned technologies, TI can offer customers what Mannesson describes as “a complete renewable package.”

Why sustainability matters to TI

Sustainability is at the heart of TI’s message and mission at electronica 2024,we asked Mannesson why this is the case currently.

“At TI, we have pledged ourselves to achieve, as a manufacturer, to be running completely on renewable energy as we approach the end of the decade. So for us, it isn’t just about helping the consumer achieve their sustainability goals, but doing so helps us to also achieve our own goals.”

By developing the necessary infrastructure to enable improved renewable energy, like solar, TI are directly giving themselves the platforms they need to achieve their own goals. As Mannesson concludes: “We are driven by our own goals.”