R&D innovation centre opened in Japan

Looking towards future requirements and in order to respond rapidly to market demands, the 1.7bn Japanese Yen investment (€13m) will make it possible to host 100 more R&D employees, making COSEL one of the largest power technology forces serving demanding customers in the world today.

The new R&D and Innovation centre features no less than five EMC anechoic chambers, including one complying with the stringent three meters requirement for radio emissions and susceptibility testing. Having the capability to test many products simultaneously within the R&D department significantly reduces the verification and qualification process times in a market where regulation and compliance is evolving rapidly.

The centre comprises five departments, on board power solutions, AC/DC standard units and configurations, Intelligent power supplies, Custom service for modifications/adaptation, and EMI filters. The departments will share the new facility, increasing synergy levels within the COSEL R&D community. With a strong focus on quality and energy saving, the research team is conducting a number of projects aiming to increase power conversion efficiency such as Wide Bandgap (GaN, SiC) semiconductors, digital power control and energy management, and a close relationship within the five departments is key to success.

“Combining the resources and technologies of the new COSEL R&D Innovation centre in Japan with the recently acquired Powerbox, and having three R&D centres in Europe and a high level of expertise in custom power solutions for demanding applications positions COSEL as an undoubted market leader,” said Tatsuo Yamamoto, COSEL’s EU & USA Sales Director. “From board power to very specialised power solutions such as in high magnetic fields in MRI equipment, we have solutions to support our customers and we foresee a high potential from our latest research to reduce energy consumption, benefiting society as a whole.”

For developing products for industrial and harsh environments, COSEL’s R&D Innovation Lab includes climatic chambers able to reproduce various onerous conditions such as salt laden atmospheres and oil bath immersion.

The new facility has been designed using the latest energy management and energy saving technologies such as air to air exchangers to regulate building and test room temperatures. A centralised computer permanently controls the environment and energy distributed within the building. The parking lot is equipped with the latest technology chargers for electrical vehicles.

In designing and building its new R&D Innovation Lab, COSEL endeavoured to comply to all the requirements of ISO 9001-2015 and ISO 14001-2015.