FINEPOWER GMBH

Their core work

FinePower is a German SME specializing in GaN (Gallium Nitride) power semiconductor solutions for energy-efficient power conversion. They design and validate power electronic systems for automotive, industrial motor drive, and photovoltaic applications. Their core work centers on bringing wide bandgap semiconductor technology from lab to market — making power converters smaller, more efficient, and more reliable across multiple industry verticals.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FinePower's H2020 journey shows a clear trajectory from generalist SME participation to deep GaN specialization. Their earliest project (EuroCPS, 2015-2018) was a broad competency platform for embedded systems with no specific technology keywords, suggesting they were still establishing their EU project presence. From 2021 onward, both YESvGaN and GaN4AP reveal a sharp pivot to GaN power semiconductors — vertical GaN on silicon, advanced power applications, and multi-sector deployment — indicating the company bet heavily on wide bandgap technology as their core identity.

FinePower is moving from GaN device development toward industrial deployment in automotive and renewable energy, making them increasingly relevant for applied power electronics partnerships.

How they like to work

FinePower operates exclusively as a participant, never leading consortia — typical for a specialized SME contributing focused technical expertise to larger research efforts. With 76 unique partners across just 3 projects, they work in large consortia (averaging 25+ partners per project), suggesting they are comfortable in complex multi-partner environments. Their role pattern indicates a specialist contributor that brings specific power electronics know-how rather than project management capacity.

Despite only three projects, FinePower has built a broad European network of 76 unique partners across 13 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of semiconductor and embedded systems initiatives. Their base near Munich places them in one of Europe's strongest power electronics and automotive R&D hubs.

What sets them apart

FinePower occupies a specific niche as an SME bridging GaN semiconductor research and real-world power conversion products. While large semiconductor companies focus on chip fabrication, FinePower brings system-level integration expertise — making GaN devices work reliably in automotive chargers, motor drives, and solar inverters. For consortium builders, they offer the rare combination of deep GaN knowledge with practical application engineering, without the overhead of engaging a large corporation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EuroCPS
  Largest EC contribution (EUR 370,000) and earliest project, serving as FinePower's entry point into the H2020 ecosystem via a broad SME enabling platform.
• GaN4AP
  Most application-diverse project, targeting automotive, industrial, and photovoltaic sectors simultaneously — reveals the full breadth of FinePower's power electronics capabilities.
• YESvGaN
  Focuses on vertical GaN on silicon — a potentially disruptive approach to achieve wide bandgap performance at silicon cost, signaling FinePower's involvement in next-generation semiconductor architectures.