Infineon and Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology signed a license agreement for core components needed in manufacturing of wind turbines. According to the agreement, Goldwind gains the license to produce Infineon IGBT stacks used in converters of Megawatt-grade wind turbines. Furthermore, Infineon will supply IGBT stacks to Goldwind. IGBTs enable the conversion of the variable frequency output from the generator to a fixed frequency appropriate for the grid in the region concerned.

As wind turbines evolve toward higher capacity and grid friendliness, full-power converters has become one of the most critical elements of PMDD (Permanent Magnet Direct Drive) wind turbines, for example those manufactured by Goldwind. Infineon has been supplying IGBT stacks to converters developed and manufactured by Goldwind since 2007. From their first installed base at Beijing Guanting Reservoir in July 2009, Goldwind converters featuring Infineon IGBT stacks have delivered an availability of over 99 percent and survived several tests under extreme conditions.

Having applied the IGBT stacks in its 1.5MW wind turbines, Goldwind plans to extend it to its 2.5MW and further to 3.0MW units now under volume production and further to 6MW offshore models now under development after the local ramp-up. As scheduled, Goldwind will deliver its first 6MW prototype in mid 2012.

Infineon further plans to set up an application engineering centre in Beijing