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In the high stakes environment of electric motorsport, victory is measured not just by speed or driver skill but by how efficiently energy is converted, controlled, and conserved.
At Envision Racing, competing at the highest level of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, our most critical components don’t roar - they hum quietly under the skin of the car, deep in the powertrain. These components are semiconductors.
The silicone powering speed
Formula E is a proving ground like no other. Race cars must deliver peak power performance while managing a fixed energy budget, all in real time and under extreme thermal and mechanical stress.
To meet those demands, we rely on power electronics built around the latest semiconductor materials, especially wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN).
These materials enable smaller, lighter, and more efficient inverters and DCDC converters. Every gram and every degree of efficiency counts. When your car needs to sprint from 0–100 km/h in under three seconds but still finish a 45-minute race on a single battery charge, semiconductor performance directly translates to competitive advantage.
There are four areas where advanced semiconductors improve race performance. The first is a low on-resistance, which maximises the amount of power transferred to the motor by reducing resistive dissipation, so low on-resistance improves powertrain speed and efficiency. SiC semiconductors also operate at higher temperatures which prevents degradation in hot environments and high duty cycle races. They have better switching speed which improves speed and efficiency through superior powertrain control and reactions. And finally, as a result of the improved power and thermal capabilities, they are lighter in weight which is perfect for a race car, improving overall vehicle performance.
In sport and in Formula E especially, efficiency is everything. It is the difference between winning and losing – and it’s through technology like this that the biggest performance gains can be made.
From race track to road
We work closely with our technology partners to test the boundaries of what’s possible in real time. This process is not theoretical: motorsport provides a paid, iterative innovation pipeline for the broader electric vehicle industry.
When a new SiC module proves reliable under the punishing extremes of Formula E, it accelerates confidence in its deployment in consumer EVs. Racing shortens the feedback loop between innovation and adoption – and the inherently competitive environment acts as an important motivator for greater, more innovative solutions.
Fast-tracking sustainability
There’s another, deeper role that semiconductors play in our sport: sustainability. Envision Racing isn’t just here to win - we’re here to help accelerate the transition to net-zero mobility. Power electronics built on next-gen semiconductors are a critical enabler of that shift.
More efficient energy conversion doesn’t just win races. It reduces battery size, charging time, and material use across the EV ecosystem. The race car becomes a lab for tomorrow’s green mobility solutions, making the sustainable option a lot more attractive for consumers.
Semiconductors don’t make headlines like overtakes or podiums, but they define the limits of what’s possible in electric racing - and by extension, in the electrified world beyond it.
With every season, we push the technology harder. And in doing so, we help bring the future of clean, connected, and high-performance mobility closer to reality.
By Andrew Holmes, Systems Engineer at Envision Racing