Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) announced a broad licensing agreement with Renesas Electronics Corporation aimed at accelerating adoption of GaN in high-efficiency power systems.

Under the agreement, Renesas will gain access to EPC’s low-voltage eGaN technology and EPC’s established supply-chain ecosystem. The companies plan to collaborate over the next year to stand up internal wafer fabrication capability for these products. Renesas will also second-source several EPC GaN devices that are already in mass production, a move intended to improve supply-chain resilience and long-term availability for customers.

The partnership is framed around the rising demand for higher efficiency, higher power density, and lower carbon footprints in power conversion, where silicon is increasingly constrained by physical limits. GaN transistors, by contrast, enable faster switching, higher efficiency, and smaller form factors—benefits that are driving architecture shifts from consumer applications to AI data center power.

“Together, EPC and Renesas are forming a global alliance to deliver state-of-the-art power efficiency – cutting costs in AI data centers and enhancing autonomous systems,” said Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC.

Renesas recently expanded its GaN position through the acquisition of Transphorm, strengthening its high-voltage GaN portfolio for applications such as AC-DC power supplies, EV chargers, solar inverters, and industrial motor drives. By adding EPC’s low-voltage eGaN expertise, Renesas aims to broaden its portfolio across low- to high-voltage segments, supporting high-volume opportunities such as AI power architectures from 48 V down to 12 V and 1 V, as well as client computing and battery-powered designs.

“Expanding our business into low-voltage GaN allows us to serve the fastest-growing power segments,” said Rohan Samsi, VP, GaN Business Division at Renesas. “This agreement with EPC complements our established high-voltage 650 V+ portfolio and enables us to capitalize on high-volume markets such as AI power architectures from 48 V down to 12 V and 1 V, as well as client computing and battery-operated applications.”

Original – Efficient Power Conversion