Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc. announced a partnership with Japan’s Fuji Electric Systems Company Ltd. to create an insulated-gate bipolar transistor and other offerings for electric cars. Customer feedback will drive Freescale’s new product line, which will be marketed to the company’s automotive base.
In an electric vehicle, a bipolar transistor connects through a switch to a traction motor and transfers energy from the car’s battery through an inverter, converting alternating current into large amounts of energy to run the motor.
Freescale, a semiconductor giant globally and spin-off from Motorola, employs about 5,000 workers in Austin and around 19,500 in the U.S. The company supplies semiconductors for the automotive industry and chips for communications equipment, consumer electronics and industrial use. In an effort to distance itself from large amounts of debt, the company filed to raise as much as $1.15 billion in an initial public offering in mid-February.
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