The landscape of industrial power infrastructure is undergoing a significant evolution as the demand for highly efficient energy conversion continues to rise. Meeting this demand head-on, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has announced the joint development of a new standard package for 3-level power semiconductor modules. Created in collaboration with Semikron Danfoss Elektronik GmbH & Co. KG, this hardware is specifically designed to support industrial drive equipment and complex renewable energy systems.
By bridging the engineering capabilities of two global manufacturing leaders, this new standard package is positioned to help enterprise customers and design engineers standardize their inverter designs across multiple suppliers.
The Drive Toward Green Transformation (GX)
As the global movement toward a Green Transformation (GX) accelerates, heavy industries are under intense pressure to realize a decarbonized society. To achieve these aggressive environmental benchmarks, the demand is growing rapidly for power semiconductors that can efficiently convert electricity with minimal thermal and energy loss.
Particularly within the industrial sector, the need to further reduce power consumption has led to the increasing adoption of 3-level circuits. A 3-level circuit is an advanced circuit topology that controls DC voltage using three distinct potential levels. Compared to legacy 2-level circuits, this architecture produces an output waveform that is much closer to a pure sine wave. This capability not only enables significantly higher operational efficiency but also allows for the miniaturization of essential peripheral components.
Engineering Synergy: LV100 Meets SEMITRANS20
The foundation of these new 3-level power semiconductor modules relies on proven, high-power architectures. The new standard package is directly based on Mitsubishi Electric’s highly regarded LV100-type package and Semikron Danfoss’s robust SEMITRANS20 package.
By working together, the two companies have successfully developed a shared standard that ensures complete compatibility in both terminal layout and core functions. Moving forward, both Mitsubishi Electric and Semikron Danfoss will independently develop and release their own products utilizing this new standard package. For B2B procurement teams and system integrators, this shared baseline means they can confidently source compatible hardware and standardize their inverter designs without being locked into a single-vendor ecosystem.
Technical Advantages of the Integrated 3-Level T-Type Circuit
Historically, integrating 3-level T-type circuits required a highly complex configuration. This newly developed hardware consolidates the 3-level T-type circuit into a single, cohesive power module package.
This integration dramatically simplifies the design phase for engineers building 3-level T-type inverters. Because these sophisticated designs offer higher efficiency and require smaller peripheral components than traditional 2-level alternatives, the module directly contributes to the overall miniaturization and efficiency of the final inverter unit. The module’s external dimensions measure a compact 100mm by 144mm by 40mm, ensuring it fits within stringent industrial footprint requirements.
Optimized Terminal Layout for Maximum Design Flexibility
A major technical hurdle in designing high-power inverters is managing electrical characteristics like parasitic inductance, which can lead to catastrophic product failures such as overvoltage during operation. The new 3-level power semiconductor modules address this through highly optimized terminal placement.
- Main Electrode Terminals: The strategically optimized placement of the main electrode terminals significantly reduces the parasitic inductance of the power module. Furthermore, this layout simplifies the design of the inverter’s busbars—the vital copper plates required to connect passive components like capacitors to the semiconductor modules.
- Auxiliary Control Terminals: The module is equipped with auxiliary control terminals explicitly dedicated to the four elements required for 3-level inverter control. The intelligent placement of these auxiliary terminals simplifies the complex design of the surrounding drive circuitry.
The holistic optimization of both main and auxiliary terminals provides engineers with unprecedented design flexibility for high-power 3-level inverters.
Global Rollout and Industry Showcase
The collaborative module concept will be presented to the international power electronics community at the Power Conversion Intelligent Motion (PCIM) Expo & Conference 2026, held in Nuremberg, Germany, from June 9 to 11. Following this European debut, the technology is scheduled to be showcased at upcoming industry exhibitions across Japan, China, and other key global markets.
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