DRESDEN -- Robert Bosch will begin production next year in Germany of a new generation of energy-efficient microchips specifically for use in electric vehicles.
The first samples from its 150-millimeter wafer plant in Reutlingen will then be delivered to potential customers and could then find their way into series production EVs three years later, according to Bosch executives.
The chips will use a different semiconducting material called silicon carbide (SiC) designed to withstand the higher temperatures and voltages found in power electronics, the system responsible for routing electricity back and forth between the battery and the drivetrain.
Bosch declined to comment on customers for the microchips. The company is a key supplier to Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which are all expanding their EV lineups to counter Tesla.
While more complex to produce, the chips lower provide improved conductivity with 50 percent less energy lost in the form of heat.
"Silicon carbide semiconductors provide greater power for electrical propulsion," Bosch board member Harald Kroeger told reporters in Dresden. "For the driver that translates to six percent more range."