EV, Hybrids & Charging Infrastructure

February 2024
CoolSiC™ MOSFET 750 V G1 from Infineon Make Onboard Chargers Smaller, Lighter and More Efficient

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Figure 1: Electric vehicle stock by mode in the Announced Pledges Scenario, 2022-2030 IEA Global EV Outlook 2023

­The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that by 2030, 60 percent of the automobile market will consist of electric vehicles (EV), resulting in over 200 million electric powertrains on the road (Figure 1). In addition to this rapid growth, the automotive industry must integrate various other trends, su
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Date:
02/29/2024
­Efficient, Compact MOSFET Modules in Full-Bridge Configurations

SemiQ’s high-performance 1200V SiC modules are designed to operate reliably in high-frequency and high-power environments.

  SemiQ unveiled the latest addition to the company’s QSiC family. The QSiC 1200V SiC MOSFET modules in full-bridge configurations deliver near zero switching loss, significantly improving efficiency, reducing heat dissipation, and allowing the use of smaller heatsinks.   With a high br
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Date:
02/26/2024
­High Amperage EV Connectors with 500 Amps Charging Capability

­High Amperage EV Connectors with 500 Amps Charging Capability

  This groundbreaking high amperage solution is available in 200 A, 250 A and 300 A variants with an enhanced boost mode that increases its amperage to 500 A. Designed and manufactured in Europe, these tethered lead, mode 4 connectors feature a unique exchangeable mating face that enables EV charging network
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Date:
02/26/2024
­Silanna Semiconductor Takes ACF Integration to Next Level

Highly integrated ACF controller simplifies and speeds design of high-efficiency, high-power-density AC/DC power supplies and adapters.

  Silanna Semiconductor has expanded its CO2 Smart Power Family of AC/DC and DC/DC converter technologies.   The new active clamp flyback (ACF) controller integrates adaptive digital PWM control with ultra-high-voltage (UHV) components comprising a 700 V primary GaN FET, X capacitor (X-Cap) d
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Date:
02/26/2024
PSDcast – LG Enters the U.S. EV Charging Market

Dennis Carter, LG’s Director of Sales in the EV Charging division

­One of the most important factors for EVs entering the mainstream is an abundance of charging stations. And nothing speaks to the mainstream like a multimedia consumer juggernaut…like LG. This South Korean multinational conglomerate just announced that it’d be entering the US EV charging market with its fi
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Date:
02/23/2024
TTI Europe Acquires Specialist Transportation Cable Assembly Manufacturer and Interconnect Distributor Raffenday Limited

Geoff Breed, Vice President Marketing TTI, Inc. – Europe

­TTI, Inc. – Europe, a leading specialty distributor of Interconnect, Passive, Electromechanical, Sensor, Discrete and Powercomponents, announces the acquisition of Raffenday Ltd. With production and a distribution center in the UK plus facilities in Slovakia, Raffenday’s high-quality, technical
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Date:
02/21/2024
ITT Cannon Introduces New CCS2 High Amperage EV Connectors with 500 Amps Charging Capability

ITT Cannon Introduces New CCS2 High Amperage EV Connectors with 500 Amps Charging Capability

­ITT Cannon announced the launch of its high-performance CCS2 Electric Vehicle (EV) connector for the European charging station market. This groundbreaking high amperage solution is available in 200 A, 250 A and 300 A variants with an enhanced boost mode that increases its amperage to 500 A. Designed an
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Date:
02/21/2024
Highly-Efficient, Compact MOSFET Modules in Full-Bridge Configurations for Solar Inverter and EV Charging

Highly-Efficient, Compact MOSFET Modules in Full-Bridge Configurations for Solar Inverter and EV Charging

­SemiQ Inc, a designer, developer, and global supplier of superior silicon carbide (SiC) solutions for ultra-efficient, high-performance, and high-voltage applications, unveiled the latest addition to the company’s QSiC™ family. The QSiC 1200V SiC MOSFET modules in full-bridge configurations deliver near ze
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Date:
02/19/2024
­SBDs Achieve Class-Leading Reverse Recovery Time

ROHM has developed 100V breakdown Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) that deliver industry-leading reverse recovery time (trr).

  The SBDs are intended for applications including power supply and protection circuits in automotive, industrial, and consumer applications.   Although numerous types of diodes exist, highly efficient SBDs are increasingly being used inside a variety of applications. Particularly SBDs with a trench
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Date:
02/18/2024
­Enhanced Reliability Power Supplies for Industrial Applications

COSEL's PDA series of AC/DC power supplies has enhanced reliability for industrial applications.

  In order to offer the highest price/performance ratio while maintaining a high quality standard, the PDA series uses a quasi-resonant topology with a limited number of components, resulting in higher reliability. The PDA series is 100% form, fit and function backwards compatible with the PBA series, which is ret
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Date:
02/18/2024
­GaN FETs Deliver Power Density and Efficiency

EPC GaN FETs leverage drivers and controllers by Analog Devices to simplify GaN design, increase efficiency, reduce cooling cost.

  EPC announces the availability of several reference designs that feature EPC GaN FETs and Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) controllers. The newly released EPC9195 synchronous buck converter reference design board, operating at 750 kHz switching frequency, converts an input voltage of 36 V - 48 V to a regu
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Date:
02/18/2024
­Farnell Adds Murata’s Latest DC-DC Converters

­Farnell Adds Murata’s Latest DC-DC Converters

  Murata Power Solutions is known worldwide as the leading manufacturer of DC-DC converters as well as compact, high-efficiency power products designed to address power application requirements of all sizes.   The new products added to the range carried by Farnell include the MGN1 series of DC-DC conv
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Date:
02/18/2024
­0.635 mm pitch, Slim Body Edge Rate Connectors

­Samtec 0.635 mm pitch, Slim Body Edge Rate Connectors

  It also includes a lower-profile 5 mm mated height. ERF6 & ERM6 Series Edge Rate connectors support 56 Gbps PAM4 high-speed, rugged mezzanine applications for industrial, embedded vision, instrumentation and monitoring, drones, and robotics.   ERF6 & ERM6 have two rows of pins while ma
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Date:
02/18/2024
Würth Optocouplers in Flyback Converters Application Note

Würth Optocouplers in Flyback Converters Application Note

­  The guide is aimed at developers looking to use a DC/DC flyback converter to achieve greater stability and reliability in power supply design. It might also be useful for those who use optocouplers for galvanic isolation of the feedback path. Applications include primary and auxiliary power supplies f
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Date:
02/18/2024
­Automotive Planar Schottky Diodes in CFP3-HP Packaging

Nexperia ­Automotive Planar Schottky Diodes in CFP3-HP Packaging

  The portfolio includes 11 industrial, as well as 11 AEC-Q101 qualified products. This release supports the growing trend for manufacturers to replace devices in SMx-type packaging with smaller footprint CFP-packaged devices, especially in automotive applications. These diodes are suitable for use in,
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Date:
02/18/2024
CES 2024 Showed that the Future of Cars will be Defined by AI

Connected and software-defined vehicle features.

IDTechEx’s new report, “Future Automotive Technologies 2024-2034: Applications, Megatrends, Forecasts”, highlights the biggest changes coming to cars over the next ten years. Electrification will change what powers cars, and automation will change how they are driven, but one of the biggest opportunities is
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Date:
02/16/2024
Renesas Electronics Announces Intent to Acquire Altium

Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas

­Renesas Electronics Corporation and Altium Limited (“Altium”, ASX: ALU), a global leader in electronics design systems, today announced they have entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement (“SIA”) for Renesas to acquire Altium by way of a Scheme of Arrangement under Australian law (“Scheme”). Un
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Date:
02/15/2024
PEM Fuel Cell Materials Market Growth Driven by Transportation Sector

Materials for PEM fuel cells market value and market share by component.

­With the growing hydrogen economy, proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are the subject of ongoing innovation, especially in terms of materials development. Dominant incumbent materials are seen for certain components, but alternative competitive options are emerging, and the technology landscape is beginning to
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Date:
02/14/2024
­10A Relays Deliver High Dielectric Strength for Extra Safety

Omron has extended its relay portfolio with the introduction of its G6RN-E, for heat pumps, smart building, factory automation and energy applications.

  The latest model provides current load to 10A, with extended dielectric strength to 6000VAC, high sensitivity with 220mW coil power consumption.   The new G6RN-E relays provide greater safety, conforming glow-wire test requirements for household and similar electrical appliances to IEC/EN60335-1 and con
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Date:
02/12/2024
­Synchronous 34V Input Buck Switching Regulator Controller

Nisshinbo Micro Devices has launched the NC2780AK series switching regulators intended for consumer, industrial and automotive applications.

  The NC2780AK has a wide input voltage range from 4.0 to 34 V and an externally adjustable output voltage from 0.7 to 5.3 V. An additional external high-side and low-side N-Channel MOSFET and some passive components are required to complete the buck switching regulator controller. The product is highly
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Date:
02/12/2024
­IP67 – even when unmated

Protective caps for binder's 670- and 770-series cable connectors reliably protect the components against any ingress of dust and liquids when unmated.

  The requirements of protection degree IP67 are thereby met. binder, a leading supplier of industrial circular connectors, is adding protective caps for the cable connectors to its NCC (Not Connected Closed) 670- and 770-series portfolio. Their task is to prevent the ingress of particles and humidity
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Date:
02/12/2024
­Innovative Double-Sided Cooling DFN 5x6 Package

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor has announced the AONA66916, a 100V MOSFET packaged in a top and bottom side cooling DFN 5 x 6 package.

  Delivering a state-of-the-art package that keeps its semiconductor products cooler, AOS is taking a huge step in enabling engineers to develop more efficient designs in telecommunications and industrial applications that must frequently operate in harsh conditions.   Typically, when using
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Date:
02/12/2024
­SOT-223-3 600V MOSFETs Contribute to Smaller Designs

ROHM has added a lineup of compact 600V Super Junction MOSFETs – the R6004END4 / R6003KND4 / R6006KND4 / R6002JND4 / R6003JND4.

  These devices are ideal for small lighting power supplies, pumps, and motors. In recent years, power supplies for lighting and motors for pumps are required to be smaller as devices become more sophisticated – spurring the demand for compact MOSFETs that are essential for switching operation.  
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Date:
02/12/2024
Dual-Channel High-Side Switches for Robust Automotive Protection

Dual-Channel High-Side Switches for Robust Automotive Protection

  The ZXMS82090S14PQ, ZXMS82120S14PQ, and ZXMS82180S14PQ switches are an expansion of the company’s IntelliFET self-protected MOSFET portfolio. These intelligent switches deliver high power within a compact footprint while also providing robust protection and diagnostic capabilities. The series is d
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Date:
02/09/2024
­Automotive Power Inductors Bring 38% Reduction in DC Resistance

­Automotive Power Inductors Bring 38% Reduction in DC Resistance

  Compared with existing products in the Murata DFE2MCAH_J0 series, the 0.33µH part, for example achieves the highest standards in the industry with a reduction of 38% in DC resistance to 18 mOhm along with a 31% increase in rated current to 5.1 A for the same temperature rise. Rated current for a sp
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Date:
02/09/2024
­New Current Sensor for High-Power Automotive Applications

­New Current Sensor for High-Power Automotive Applications

  The collaboration results in the core-based Nano sensor that is 60% smaller than anything previously available without any compromise on performance.   “The Nano current sensor is a great example of how LEM is able to work hand-in-hand with industry specialists to tackle customers’ system challenges and
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Date:
02/09/2024
IDTechEx Discusses Whether Fuel Cell Vehicles Will Succeed and What It Would Take

The cost of green hydrogen needs to reduce dramatically to match BEV charging costs.

­The sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars have largely stalled from 2021 onwards, but does this mean there is no market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the future, and what is required to make them a success? IDTechEx's report, "Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles 2024-2044: Markets, Technologies, and Foreca
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Date:
02/09/2024
­Würth Elektronik extends MagI³C-FISM family

­Würth Elektronik extends MagI³C-FISM family

  The device is 100% pin-to-pin compatible with the previous MagI³C-FISM. It has improved properties: the efficiency goes up to 84 percent, the ambient temperature range has been increased to 105°C and the isolation voltage is 3 kV (for 60 seconds). Like some of its predecessors, this power module ha
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Date:
02/08/2024
­AT Series connectors from Amphenol now at Rutronik

­AT Series connectors from Amphenol now at Rutronik

  These heavy-duty, waterproof connectors are available in different form factors as well as BoardLock, StructurePlus, LED, HYPERBUSS, and PanelMate options. They are a cost-effective choice and have been developed to be compatible with all other existing standard products industrywide. Designed to IP68
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Date:
02/08/2024
­Conesys MIL-DTL-26482 connectors from Powell Electronics

­Conesys MIL-DTL-26482 connectors from Powell Electronics

    Rugged miniature cylindrical Conesys MIL-DTL-26482 connectors are immediately available through Powell Electronics   The components feature a reliable bayonet coupling design with rear-removable crimp contacts.   The Conesys MIL-DTL-26482 connectors are available with
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Date:
02/08/2024
New Yorker Electronics Releases New Exxelia High-Power Alcon Film Capacitor Series

New Yorker Electronics Releases New Exxelia High-Power Alcon Film Capacitor Series

­New Yorker Electronics has announced the release of Exxelia’s new Alcon FP-20-400-SP Film-Capacitor for high-power applications. Because of its extraordinary power density, it’s able to handle high levels of power without compromising on performance. This device has an operating frequency up to 1000KH
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Date:
02/08/2024
Resting Boosts Performance of Lithium Metal Batteries

Yi Cui, the Fortinet Founders Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering, Stanford

­Next-generation electric vehicles could run on lithium metal batteries that go 500 to 700 miles on a single charge, twice the range of conventional lithium-ion batteries in EVs today. But lithium metal technology has serious drawbacks: The battery rapidly loses its capacity to store energy after relativel
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Date:
02/08/2024
­PI introduces InnoSwitch5 offline flyback switcher IC

­PI introduces InnoSwitch5 offline flyback switcher IC

  The single-chip switcher achieves over 95 percent efficiency with a novel secondary-side control scheme which achieves zero-voltage switching (ZVS) without a dedicated and costly additional high voltage switch. The new IC, which features a 750 V or a 900 V PowiGaN™ primary switch, primary-side contr
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Date:
02/08/2024
Charging Station “Usage Taxes” Could Slow the Growth of EVs

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Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

­A sensible way to preserve tax revenues or a barrier to progress? That’s the question plaguing Kentuckians, as the Bluegrass State has enacted a use tax on public EV charging stations. EVs and hybrids will help fulfill a number of environmental goals, reducing fossil fuel consumption and cutting emissions. But
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Date:
02/06/2024
An Engineer’s Guide to EV Battery Management Systems

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Figure 1: An electric vehicle's battery pack. (Source: Nissan)

An EV's primary energy source is a battery pack (Figure 1). A pack is typically designed to fit on the vehicle's underside, between the front and back wheels, and occupies the space usually reserved for a transmission tunnel, exhaust, and fuel tank in an internal combustion vehicle. Keeping the pack as low as poss
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Date:
02/06/2024
STMicroelectronics Announces new Organization

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STMicroelectronics Announces new Organization

STMicroelectronics moves from three to two product groups, AMPS and MDRF. The Analog, Power & Discrete, MEMS and Sensors Group (APMS) will be led by Marco Cassis, ST President and member of the Executive Committee, and the Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF products group (MDRF) will be led by Remi El-Ou
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Date:
02/06/2024
Power Semiconductor Modules for EVs and PHEVs

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Power Semiconductor Modules for EVs and PHEVs

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced the coming release of six J3-Series power semiconductor modules for various electric vehicles (xEV), featuring either a silicon carbide metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (SiC-MOSFET) or a RC-IGBT (Si), with compact designs and scalability for use in the in
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Date:
02/06/2024
High Voltage GaN Transistors for Speed and Efficiency

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Figure 1: Doped silicon transistor cross section compared to GaN HEMT

The high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is a relative newcomer in the world of mass-produced power switching devices.  Unlike its traditional doped Silicon counterpart, HEMTs are heterojunction devices built using two semiconductor materials with distinct bandgap voltages.  First demonstrated in the late 19
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Date:
02/04/2024
GaN FETs Enable 75 - 231 Ampere Laser Diode Control in Nanoseconds for Lidar

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GaN FETs Enable 75 - 231 Ampere Laser Diode Control in Nanoseconds for Lidar

­EPC launches three laser driver boards dubbed EPC9179, EPC9181 and EPC9180 containing pulse current laser drivers of 75 A, 125 A, and 231 A, showcasing EPC's AEC-Q101-qualified GaN FETs. These FETs (EPC2252, EPC2204A, and EPC2218A) are 30% smaller and said to be more cost-effective than their predecessors. Des
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Date:
02/04/2024
SiC FET in D2PAK for 750V EV Designs

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SiC FET in D2PAK for 750V EV Designs

­Qorvo unveiled an automotive-qualified SiC FET offering an RDS(on) of 9mΩ in a compact D2PAK-7L package. This 750V SiC FET is the first in a new family of pin-compatible SiC FETs from Qorvo with RDS(on) options up to 60mΩ, making them well suited for electric vehicle applications, including on-b
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Date:
02/04/2024
150mm and 200mm SiC Wafer Supply Secured

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150mm and 200mm SiC Wafer Supply Secured

­Infineon Technologies and Wolfspeed announced the expansion and extension of their existing long-term 150mm silicon carbide wafer supply agreement, originally signed in February 2018. The extended partnership includes a multi-year capacity reservation agreement. It contributes to Infineon's general supply chain
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Date:
02/04/2024
Separating Charging and Load Requirements in EVs

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Figure 1. Share of xEV in percentage

The high-voltage energy stored in the EV battery is converted by HV-LV DCDC conversion systems into a low voltage that can be used by the vehicle's electrical and electronic systems. This conversion is critical to the intended operation of the vehicle as it contributes to maintaining the power supply to vital systems
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Date:
02/01/2024
The Benefits of Magnetically Geared Drives and Motors

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Figure 1: Micromobility

Quieter, cleaner and in the case of lightweight electric vehicles (LEVs) much smaller, today’s electric, hybrid and micromobility vehicles offer real potential to mitigate many of the problems associated with the UK’s noisy, congested and polluting traffic. What’s more, as the technology used in these vehi
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Date:
02/01/2024
Say Hello to Bidirectional Topologies in EV Charging

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Figure 1: If the charging infrastructure and power grid are connected by a bidirectional converter, the charging hub functions as a source of power that can support the grid as necessary

The average gas station fill-up for vehicles only takes two minutes. With more electric vehicles (EVs) hitting the road every day, drivers’ expectations of similar conveniences remain unequivocally strong, driving the need for DC fast charging capabilities and infrastructure. To facilitate this paramount and
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Date:
02/01/2024
Keeping Things Cool

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Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Welcome to the February edition of Power Systems Design Europe. We now know that 2023 was the hottest year on record. Even though it narrowly missed breaching the key international climate target of 1.5oC over the long-term average with a final reading of 1.48oC, the predictions are that this year will be even h
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Date:
02/01/2024