Shanghai (ZXZC)- On November 29, BorgWarner's Suzhou factory celebrated a significant achievement, reaching a production milestone of 2 million units for its new energy electronic controllers. The event also marked the initiation of trial production for the new "China Viper and China Die" production lines.

Rendering of BorgWarner's Suzhou factory; photo credit: BorgWarner

BorgWarner started volume production at the second phase of its facility in the Suzhou Industrial Park earlier this year after the ground-breaking ceremony was held at the end of 2021. The R&D Center of BorgWarner's Suzhou facility focuses on the full range of electronics design and development, including power electronics, inverters and DC/DC converters, with the aim of leading power electronics technology in the Chinese market. In the coming years, BorgWarner Suzhou will expand the R&D team, establishing full design capabilities, and equip the center with additional test and prototype equipment to enable the team to serve its customers more quickly and efficiently.

The importance of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power devices in new energy electronic controls is undeniable. As a core component in motor controllers, BorgWarner's self-developed power module "Viper" was traditionally manufactured in its Singapore facility. However, the Suzhou facility has now achieved complete autonomous and controllable production of power modules in China. It also stands as BorgWarner's second global production base for Viper, strategically significant for the company's electric drive business in China.

The company said the high integration of BorgWarner's Viper power switch, coupled with superior cooling performance, results in a significant reduction in the use of semiconductors and silicon carbide materials. This translates to a 40% reduction in weight, a 25% increase in power density, and a 30% reduction in volume compared to traditional silicon-based inverters.