NoMIS Power Joins ARPA-E DC-GRIDS Consortium, Supplying 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs for High-Voltage HVDC Submodules

NoMIS Power Corporation, a leader in advanced Silicon Carbide (SiC) power semiconductor technology, today announced its participation as an industry partner in a three-year, $2.5 million project led by Michigan State University (PI: Dr. Omid Beik) to develop high-voltage SiC-based Neutral Point Clamped Power Electronics Building Blocks (NPC-PEBBs) as vendor-agnostic, plug-and-play submodules for modular valves in multiport multiterminal HVDC (MT-HVDC) converters. The project was selected under the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) Disruptive DC Converters for Grid Resilient Infrastructure to Deliver Sustainable energy (DC-GRIDS) program and will leverage NoMIS Power's 3.3 kV SiC MOSFET portfolio, including its upcoming 25 mΩ 3.3 kV device.

The project consortium includes NoMIS Power, EPRI, OPAL-RT Technologies, GE Grid Solutions, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Salt River Project, and Minnesota Power. The DC-GRIDS program targets transformative HVDC technologies that could substantially expand U.S. transmission capacity to support electrification, surging demand from data centers, and integration of resources such as offshore wind. MT-HVDC converters are the backbone of long-distance, high-capacity power transmission and the leading architecture for high-capacity data center power delivery, cross-region grid links, and offshore wind interconnection.

NoMIS Power's 3.3 kV SiC portfolio at the heart of the NPC-PEBB 

The NPC-PEBB submodules at the core of this project — rated 6.6 kV / 2.5 kA — will be built using NoMIS Power's U.S.-designed 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs and power modules. The architecture is designed to capitalize directly on NoMIS' expanding 3.3 kV roadmap, anchored by the previously released NoMIS N3PT080MP330 (3.3 kV, 80 mΩ, 34 A) and extending through the forthcoming 50 mΩ and 25 mΩ 3.3 kV MOSFETs that will complete the suite. The 25 mΩ 3.3 kV device is expected to be a particularly strong fit for HVDC submodule applications, where the lowest possible on-resistance translates directly into reduced conduction losses, higher converter efficiency, and improved thermal headroom at MT-HVDC valve current levels.

NoMIS Power's role in the project 

NoMIS Power will lead the program's SiC device-level packaging, coordinating all packaging tasks and supporting NPC-PEBB assembly. NoMIS engineers will also lead electrical testing, screening, and performance characterization of SiC devices and power modules feeding into NPC-PEBB assembly and demonstration. The work will be performed at NoMIS Power's facility within the Albany Nanotech Complex in Albany, NY.

The NPC-PEBB approach delivers a step-change over conventional Si IGBT-based half-bridge submodules, including a 3-level 6.6 kV output (versus 2-level 4.5 kV), full DC fault current blocking, a 60% reduction in submodule capacitor size via an advanced multilevel space vector modulation strategy, and improved efficiency, power density, and reliability across the valve and converter.

3.3 kV SiC supply available to other DC-GRIDS teams and global power electronics developers 

Beyond this consortium, NoMIS Power's 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs and power modules are available as supply to other DC-GRIDS teams, as well as to broader medium- and high-voltage power electronics developers. NoMIS supports evaluation, design-in, and custom packaging engagements, including guidance on transitioning from legacy IGBT-based platforms to SiC.

Executive quote 

"MT-HVDC is foundational to the future of the U.S. grid, and our 3.3 kV SiC portfolio — culminating with the upcoming 25 mΩ device — is purpose-built for exactly this class of application," said Dr. Adam Morgan, Co-Founder and CEO of NoMIS Power. "We're proud to support Dr. Beik and the Michigan State-led team with U.S.-designed SiC MOSFETs, modules, and packaging expertise, and we welcome the opportunity to supply other DC-GRIDS teams advancing modular valves and converter substation technologies for multiterminal HVDC."