Market and Technology Trends

Capacitors for Power Converters 2023

By Yole Intelligence — Apr 2023

With a CAGR of 13%, EV/HEV is transforming the power capacitor supply chain to reach 7B$ in 2028.

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The xEV will increase its market share of the power capacitor from 29% in 2022 to 44% by 2028

Capacitor costs represented about 10% of the total power converter costs in 2022. This percentage is increasing as the number of expensive film capacitors increases. This percentage increases with the power level of the system.

The overall capacitor market for power converters will grow from around $4.9 billion in 2022 to $7.0 billion by 2028, with a CAGR2022-2028 of 5.9%.

Film capacitors show the most significant growth, representing a market of around $3.9 billion in 2022.

Electrolytic and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are mainly used for low- to medium-voltage ranges and will grow with CAGRs2022-2028 of 5.7% and 5.1%, respectively.

The xEV will increase its market share of the power capacitor from 29% in 2022 to 44% by 2028. Therefore, many capacitor companies are willing to expand their business and focus on the automotive industry’s current and future needs.

Many leading capacitor manufacturers such as Nichicon and TDK are vertically integrated

The leading capacitor companies include Nippon Chemi-Con, Murata, Kyocera/AVX, and TDK, all in Japan; Vishay in the USA; Yageo/Kemet in Taiwan.

Many capacitor manufacturers such as TDK, Kyocera AVX, and Yageo manufacture all capacitor types, i.e., film, electrolytic, and MLCC. However, some focus on a few types of capacitors only. For example, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Taiyo Yuden have MLCC only, and Nichicon and Rubycon manufacture film and electrolytic capacitors.

Many leading capacitor manufacturers such as Nichicon, TDK, and Kemet are vertically integrated and also manufacture capacitor components, such as metalized foil for film capacitors and metal foil for electrolytic capacitors. At the same time, some manufacturers, such as Samsung-Electro Mechanics and TDK, use their own systems in a vertically-integrated supply chain.

Many capacitor companies have a presence and manufacturing capacity in several countries. Manufacturing in countries like China, India, and Latin America offers lower manufacturing costs than in Europe or Japan. On the other hand, local manufacturing provides advantages, such as better access to local incentives, easier access to customers involved in specific applications, higher flexibility and reactivity to customer demands, etc.

In the past few years, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been increasing to add new product lines, increase profitability, access more customers, or eliminate competition. For example, with its purchase of KEMET, Yageo gained access to many new products and customers and vastly expanded its presence in North America.

Capacitor technology evolution is mainly driven by the xEV sub-segment

In the power capacitor industry, film technology continues to be the mainstream for DC link applications —nevertheless, some markets with severe cost pressure frequently return to electrolytic capacitors.

For snubber applications, film and MLCC are generally used. Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are used for low- to medium-voltage ranges, e.g., home appliances and mild hybrid electric vehicles. Film capacitors are used for medium- to high-voltage ranges such as fully electric vehicles, rail, and wind.

The most important trends for power capacitors include:

Increasing market share of the xEV sub-segment, with an accompanying need to find suitable solutions to the numerous challenges associated with xEV applications, e.g., high power density, integration, high voltage range, reliability under frequent thermal cycling, and vibration.
A growing need for compact-sized capacitors, e.g., for xEV applications.
A growing need for capacitors that can withstand higher temperatures, both at the junctions and in adverse operating environments.

An innovative system trend for xEV could boost the need for higher-temperature DC link capacitors. Dielectric films such as Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) improve capacitor properties, like increasing energy density and high-temperature capability. Therefore, to meet the specific requirements of xEV, dielectric film manufacturers such as Toray, Shin-Etsu Films, and Fuwei Films play a vital role in enhancing capacitors’ properties as well as capacitor manufacturers.

Report objectives

About the authors

Companies cited

Scope of the report

Definitions

Who should be interested in this report?

Three-page summary

Executive summary

Context

Market forecast

By market segment
By sub-segment
By voltage
By function

Market trends

Supply chain

Film capacitors for power electronics manufacturers
Electrolytic capacitors for power electronics manufacturers
MLCC for power electronics manufacturers
Film capacitor manufacturers market share – 2022
Electrolytic capacitor manufacturers market share - 2022
MLCC for power electronics manufacturers
Film capacitor manufacturers market share – 2022
Electrolytic capacitor manufacturers market share - 2022
MLCC manufacturers market share – 2022
Overall capacitor manufacturers' market share – 2022
Material manufacturers
Vertical integration level – film capacitors
Vertical integration level – electrolytic capacitors
Who will get benefit from high demand and innovation in the capacitor industry?
Recent partnerships, mergers, & acquisitions, & IPOs
Top 3 players

Capacitors – manufacturing, demand, and shortage

Is there any shortage of capacitors?
Trend towards delocalized manufacturing?

Technology trends

Technology trends – converter

Capacitor technology

Capacitor classification
Comparison of various types of capacitors

Focus on film, electrolytic, and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC)

Main function of capacitors in power converters

DC link application
Snubber
Input / output filter

Capacitor roadmaps

Key technology evolutions and roadmap for capacitors
Requirements / challenges of capacitors in power electronics
Capacitor technology trend – downsizing
Capacitor technology trend – high-temperature capacitors

Wide band gap

Power component positioning as a function of power and frequency
Silicon MOSFETs vs. GaN HEMTs and SiC MOSFETs
Capacitor requirements for WBG technology
Capacitors for WBG – a few examples

EV trends that will impact capacitor choice

BEV integration and impact on capacitor choice
WBG and impact on capacitor choice
Battery voltage increase and impact on capacitor
Modularity approach in BEV platforms

Capacitor use and trends in different applications

Photovoltaic (PV)
Wind turbines
UPS
Rail
EV
Industrial motors
EV DC chargers
Battery energy storage system
Home appliances

Bill of materials

Converters for the same application cover a wide range of power levels
BoM for converters for different power levels

Challenges

Conditions that influence capacitor longevity

Outlook

Yole Group corporate presentation

Key Features

Identify and analyse the main market segments for capacitors
Analyse the dynamics of different markets and provide insight into drivers, restraints and challenges
Analyse the supply chain structure and evolution and identify the key players.
Provide an insight into vertical and horizontal integration trends, recent investments and M&A.
Provide a clear overview of current capacitor technologies.
Highlight the main challenges and proposed innovations.
Focus on xEV capacitor evolution and requirements
Provide the impact of higher integration on capacitor technology

Why this report?

Among the power passive components of power converters, most innovations are focused on capacitor technology, Therefore, this report analyzes the technology and market trends for capacitors used in power converters.