Infineon Technologies AG has announced that BRC Solar GmbH is using its CoolGaN 100 V transistors as the primary switching technology in its Power Optimizer solutions. Featuring a compact 3 mm x 5 mm design, these GaN devices provide exceptional switching efficiency and power-handling performance, supporting highly efficient panel-level maximum power-point tracking (MPPT) and increased power density in solar systems. The collaboration highlights the rising demand for Infineon’s gallium nitride technology in renewable energy applications, where efficiency, space-saving designs, and cost-effective performance are key priorities.
“The adoption of CoolGaN technology from Infineon in BRC Solar’s Power Optimizers demonstrates the tangible impact that GaN switching performance can deliver in real-world renewable energy systems,” says Johannes Schoiswohl, Senior Vice President & General Manager GaN Business Line at Infineon. “By enabling higher efficiency, greater power density, and cloud-based performance monitoring in the same compact form factor, CoolGaN helps solar system designers push the boundaries of what is achievable in rooftop solar applications and brings meaningful benefits to end users and the environment alike.”
Rooftop solar installations face a fundamental efficiency challenge: when MPPT is implemented at the string level, partial shading of a single panel reduces the output of the entire string. The CoolGaN Transistor 100 V family addresses this directly by enabling cost-effective panel-level MPPT optimization, eliminating the performance drag of the weakest panel and maximizing energy yield across the full installation. The inherently superior switching characteristics of GaN, including lower switching losses, higher switching frequency capability, and reduced EMI compared to silicon alternatives, make CoolGaN the enabling technology for power optimizers that must simultaneously meet stringent efficiency, size, and regulatory requirements.
“Since its founding, BRC Solar has recognized the transformative potential of gallium nitride technology for achieving best-in-class performance in solar power optimizers,” says Pascal Ruisinger, CFO at BRC Solar GmbH. “Infineon and BRC Solar share the same vision: to leverage state-of-the-art technologies such as CoolGaN to benefit the environment and society by delivering optimized green energy through feature-rich and affordable products.”
The superior switching performance of CoolGaN, combined with a diverse product portfolio spanning discrete and integrated solutions across a broad range of voltage and power levels, allows BRC Solar’s Power Optimizer design to achieve the optimal balance between cost, size, and efficiency. The result is a solution that delivers tangible performance benefits to end customers in residential and commercial rooftop solar installations.
