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To promote advanced manufacturing, the Obama administration has established four manufacturing innovation institutes. The Next Generation Power Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute, led by North Carolina State University, is the second one.

Reporters recently visited the university and learned that a manufacturing innovation institute is essentially a consortium of government, industry, and research institutions aimed at accelerating the transition of relevant technologies from the lab to the market. Its strategic goal is to cultivate a batch of high-tech manufacturing industries and keep related jobs in the United States.

The government hopes universities and industry will work closely together

The manufacturing innovation institute led by North Carolina State University focuses on the wide bandgap (WBG) power electronics industry. Its mission is to accelerate the commercialization of power electronic devices based on gallium nitride and silicon carbide (i.e., wide bandgap semiconductors), reduce their manufacturing costs, and replace the currently widely used silicon-based semiconductors.

According to reports, wide bandgap semiconductors can operate at higher temperatures, higher voltages, and in more extreme environments, and have great potential to significantly improve the energy efficiency and reliability of power electronic products. They have broad application prospects in variable frequency drives for industrial motors, consumer electronics, data centers, and in renewable energy power generation systems that convert direct current to alternating current. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that by 2030, 80% of U.S. electricity will be used for power electronic products, demonstrating the enormous application potential.

At present, the most mature and primary use of related technologies and new materials is in the manufacture of light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. In 1987, Cree, founded by a doctoral student in materials and engineering at North Carolina State University, has now grown into a large enterprise manufacturing LED bulbs.

On January 15 this year, U.S. President Obama visited North Carolina and announced that North Carolina State University was selected to lead this advanced manufacturing innovation institute focused on power electronics.

When asked why the university was selected, Chancellor Woodson of North Carolina State University told this newspaper: First, because North Carolina State University has long-term research in related technologies and engineering fields. Second, North Carolina State University has an excellent partnership with the private sector, which the Obama administration values; they want to see cooperation between universities and industry.

Tawny Lomax, Vice Chancellor of North Carolina State University responsible for managing the manufacturing innovation institute, told this newspaper that the university won the institute through a competitive bid. A team led by North Carolina State University competed with another team led by a university in New York. Ultimately, the proposal submitted by North Carolina State University was selected. She explained that the new generation of semiconductors not only has bright application prospects in consumer electronics but can also be widely used in larger systems, such as industrial motor systems and power transmission and transformation systems. For example, solar and wind power generation require conversion from direct current to alternating current before grid connection, and currently this conversion loses a lot of electricity. New materials and technologies can greatly reduce power losses. Another example is that current electric vehicles require two cooling systems to cool the battery. With new materials, only one cooling system is needed, which reduces the energy used for cooling and also makes the vehicle lighter.

The consortium of industry, government, and research aims to reduce the cost of technology application as soon as possible

Lomax said there is a gap between university research and industry adoption of technology. The function of the manufacturing innovation institute is to serve as a bridge from research to manufacturing, driving the next-generation semiconductor industry through "the power of many collaborators." Currently, the consortium includes 5 universities (including North Carolina State University), 2 U.S. national laboratories, and 18 companies. The institute is currently formulating its first-year work plan and has not yet officially launched. Funding is also not yet in place. The total budget for the innovation institute over five years is $146 million. The U.S. Department of Energy has committed $70 million, $60 million will come from "industry partners," and the North Carolina state government and relevant universities will invest $16 million. The institute will specifically carry out four tasks: first, develop key wide bandgap power electronics technologies; second, stimulate demand to promote early application in high-end markets; third, support and develop the manufacturing base; fourth, cultivate talent needed for the wide bandgap semiconductor industry through education and training programs, planning to create a new master's degree program in power electronics and, at the same time, collaborate with community colleges to train the workforce.

Reporters noted that these 18 "industry partners" cover all links in the power electronics industry chain, including both U.S. companies and subsidiaries of foreign companies in the United States, as well as large enterprises and startups with fewer than 5 employees. This is consistent with the U.S. principles of openness to foreign investment and government support for small businesses.

Switzerland-based ABB is one of the 18 industry partners. Tang Le, Vice President of R&D at ABB's U.S. subsidiary, told this newspaper that the materials and technologies for manufacturing wide bandgap semiconductors already exist; the problem is that manufacturing costs are too high. The consortium of industry, government, and research institutions aims to promote this technology as quickly as possible, reduce manufacturing costs through material improvements, process improvements, increased production volume, and market cultivation, and accelerate the process from lab to market. Currently, the manufacturing innovation institute has defined three-year, five-year, and ten-year plans, with the goal of making the manufacturing cost of this semiconductor comparable to that of silicon-based semiconductors. He said that power electronic devices act as an "interface" in industrial drive systems and are needed everywhere. "The U.S. government's strategy is to retain high-end, technology-intensive manufacturing and its jobs in the United States through technological leadership." Tang Le believes that this national strategy of the United States is wise.

The "biggest problems for U.S. manufacturing are high corporate taxes and a lack of highly skilled workers"

Previously, the first innovation institute was established in Ohio, dedicated to promoting 3D printing technology. In February this year, Obama announced the establishment of two high-tech manufacturing centers in Chicago and Canton, outside Detroit, Michigan, focusing on digital manufacturing and design, and lightweight, modern metal manufacturing, respectively.

Obama's goal is to establish 45 centers and connect them into a network. However, establishing so many centers requires congressional appropriations. Republican lawmakers in Congress generally oppose increased government spending and market intervention. The Obama administration previously supported several solar companies, which subsequently went bankrupt, reinforcing opponents' belief that this is government overreach, doing what it should not do.

U.S. manufacturing is transitioning to be more high-end and more innovative. Manufacturing innovation institutes may inspire some parts of U.S. manufacturing to remain at the forefront of innovation. But the several centers established by Obama through executive power are clearly incapable of revitalizing the entire manufacturing sector. Martin Baily, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said in an interview with this newspaper that he supports the policy of establishing manufacturing innovation institutes, but he believes it will not help U.S. manufacturing much. "The biggest problems are that U.S. corporate taxes are too high and there is a lack of highly skilled workers." He said: "U.S. companies are very strong in technology, but they will not manufacture products in the United States because it is not profitable to do so."