Blog

Jul 15, 2023

Littelfuse has a Broad Portfolio to Generate Green Hydrogen

Littelfuse is a dynamic industrial technology manufacturer dedicated to creating a safer, interconnected, and sustainable world. Serving a diverse clientele of over 100,000 end users, Littelfuse’s

Littelfuse is a dynamic industrial technology manufacturer dedicated to creating a safer, interconnected, and sustainable world. Serving a diverse clientele of over 100,000 end users, Littelfuse’s products are integral to various industries including industrial, transportation, and electronics. During an interaction with Nitisha, Navneet Vinaik, Head – Demand Creation & Sales Manager – Power Semiconductors & S. Africa, Littelfuse discussed about the green hydrogen sector, including their products for power converters and energy storage in the sector, as well as their strategic plans, achievements in 2022, and upcoming product releases and collaborations.

Littelfuse has a broad portfolio of products to offer for the power converters used in the electrolyzers to generate green hydrogen. These includes protection components like high-speed fuses, Surge Protection Devices and power semiconductors – high power press pack diodes & thyristors for input rectification & IGBT modules, Silicon Carbide Diodes & MOSFETs for the DC-DC converter stages and finally we have various types of temperature sensors which can be used in these applications.

There are multiple approaches for power the conversion block which can include multiple B6C rectifier units or there can be a B6U rectifiers followed by IGBT based choppers and finally there is a modular approach for the electrolyzer power converter where multiple smaller blocks of say 50kW are used to make a bigger system and each of these modules use a mix of protection components, power devices & temperature sensors from Littelfuse.

Although the world is moving towards the module approach for flexible design approach, the advantages of making a high power converter using the press pack thyristors can outweigh the modular approach in certain applications. We have demonstrated a 2MW rectifier using 2xB6C rectifiers can give up to 99.6% efficiency with only forced air cooling whereas similar modular approach converter might have lesser efficiency and need a much bigger cooling system.

ESR fuses are 1500VDC high speed square body fuses offering high DC interrupt ratings with low minimum breaking current and low watt loss. These are conforming to the IEC60269-7 battery standard, the ESR series is specifically designed to safeguard evolving battery technologies with fuse circuit protection. As the operating voltage for renewable systems is increasing to reap in the benefits of higher voltage/ lower currents, we have also released these fuses which can safely operate up to 1500VDC.

We are working on multiple projects related to green hydrogen sectors currently and have several devices in roadmap which would be suitable for this application.

Green hydrogen is one of the cleanest form of energy, however there are several challenges in front of the us, especially on the transportation & use of the hydrogen generated with the systems. Currently we are seeing major use of the hydrogen is for ammonia etc however mass usage of the generated hydrogen will still take longer time.

2022 was a remarkable year for Littelfuse. We continued to expand our leadership in high-growth end markets with significant new business wins and strategic acquisitions, and achieved record sales, earnings and cash generation. Compared to 2021, we achieved annual revenue of $2.5 billion, up 21 percent, and double-digit sales growth in each business segment.

In 2021, we announced its five-year strategic plan which builds upon its strengths from its previous strategy. The Company is well-positioned within the center of the global structural growth themes of sustainability, connectivity, and safety, which will continue to drive increased demand for the Company’s products across the transportation, industrial and electronics end markets that it serves. We expect to achieve this through content and share gains, expanded presence in high-growth markets and geographies, and targeting high-growth and niche applications. The Company continues to drive commercial excellence through investments in its people, customer-driven innovation, strategic acquisitions and integration of these businesses, eMobility, and its digital infrastructure to improve the customer experience, and its operating systems.

Littelfuse has just announced the release of the first-in-market AEC-Q200 Rev E Qualified Fuses, specifically designed for the demanding circuit protection needs of compact automotive electronics and electric vehicle (EV) applications.

We also launched the new Current Sensing Resistor (CSR) family. These new CSRs offer a more cost-effective solution for measuring current within circuits, enabling voltage monitoring, control, and power management of functions such as battery charging and motor speed, while also providing overcurrent protection.

Regionally, Littelfuse India continues to collaborate with distribution partners for various demand creation activities, such as seminars & technical days, online campaigns, and industry tradeshows.