YG PRESS NEWS – Power SiC and GaN: transforming industries and charging the future

According to Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group, in the Power SiC/GaN Compound Semiconductor Market Monitor, SiC and GaN continue to shape the rapidly evolving market, a trend that was initiated in 2018-2019. However, they are now being driven by different factors. Initially, the groundbreaking electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla embraced SiC technology for its inverters. Nevertheless, a new development is reshaping the electric vehicle (EV) landscape, specifically the adoption of fast 800V EV charging, which reduces charging times significantly. SiC plays a pivotal role in enabling this innovation, offering promising performance and a growing supply chain. As of 2023, high-volume EVs like BYD’s Han and Hyundai’s Ioniq5 are incorporating SiC technology and are being delivered to consumers. Leading players in the semiconductor industry, including STMicroelectronics, Infineon, Wolfspeed, onsemi, and ROHM, achieved record revenues in 2022. They are all poised to reach US$1 billion in SiC revenue within the 2023-2025 timeframe, with the overall SiC market expected to exceed US$8 billion by 2028. Beyond the automotive sector, SiC is gaining traction in industrial, energy, and rail applications, further fueling its growth momentum. Investments in capacity expansion, business integration, and the development of new business models are expected to propel SiC to new heights in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, GaN technology continues to advance primarily in consumer applications, with a strong focus on fast smartphone chargers. Power Integrations and Navitas lead the market, securing multiple design wins with smartphone manufacturers. Innoscience, for instance, announced shipments of over 50 million GaN devices in just Q1-23, primarily targeting consumer power applications. Their 40V GaN products have already found a place in flagship phones from OPPO and Realme. GaN Systems, on the other hand, has introduced a 70W charger for the MacBook Air M2 13” 512GB model and the 15” model from Apple after the success of their 140W charger for the MacBook Pro 16”. In Q2-23, Navitas secured a design win for the Xiaomi Mi 13 Ultra 90W ultra-fast ‘in-box’ chargers. There’s a noticeable trend towards targeting power levels higher than 75W for fast smartphone chargers, which is expected to increase the adoption of GaN technology. In the long term, telecom and datacom applications, driven by the need for high-efficiency power conversion to meet CO2 emission targets, as well as on-board chargers and DC-DC converters in EVs, represent significant growth opportunities for GaN, with the potential to surpass a US$2 billion market in 2028… For more information about this analysis, please contact us!