Power SiC: more than $4 billion invested in the industry
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“SiC technologies are gaining the confidence of many customers and are penetrating various applications,” asserts Ezgi Dogmus, PhD. Team Lead Analyst, Compound Semiconductor & Emerging Substrates at Yole Développement (Yole). “Indeed, driven by EV related applications, SiC for power electronics applications will for sure, grow strongly in the next five years…”
Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the SiC-based EV/HEV market has not slowed down. Numerous carmakers continue qualifying SiC discrete devices or modules in main inverters, OBC and DC/DC converters for their next generation models. In this context, the SiC automotive market is expected to grow to exceed US$1.5 billion in 2025, with a 38% CAGR.
Along with EV applications, SiC is of great interest to the charging infrastructure market, which is growing significantly. Indeed, high power chargers can benefit from SiC’s higher efficiency and higher frequency by offering more compact solutions than silicon IGBTs. The market size is expected to reach US$225 million in 2025 with a 90% CAGR between 2019 and 2025.
Besides automotive, applications such as PV, rail and motor drives will also show double-digit CAGR in the 2019-2025 period.
More generally, the market outlook for SiC devices looks promising. This market will reach a 30% CAGR for the 2019-2025 period, according to Yole’ Power SiC report, 2020 edition. Since the commercialization of the first SiC device in 2001, SiC devices performances and the value, have been gradually proven. Their price has also become increasingly attractive for the end users.
“SiC transistors still have some technical and commercial challenges to face, despite the value they add”, comments Amine Allouche, Technology & Cost Analyst at System Plus Consulting. “These include the wafer price and the complexity of some process steps, specifically SiC etching and high temperature implantation. These challenges still hinder SiC adoption on a large commercial scale.”
In parallel, SiC diodes’ performance and added value have been also demonstrated. Today, their price has become increasingly acceptable to end users as well… More info.