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Introduction
By Nitin Dahad
Silicon carbide is a technology in the right place at the right time. Just as the global sustainability and green agenda began pushing industries to deliver cleaner and more efficient electrical power conversion, SiC power semicon- ductor devices entered a stage of development that enabled their deployment in products. The wholesale movement of the automotive industry toward vehicle electrification, driven by the CO2 emission reduction objectives of governments around the world, provided the kickstart for SiC market growth, fueling the pro- cess and product development that is expected to move SiC power devices into broader industrial, electromobility, and renewable energy applications.
Today, the clear growth drivers for SiC remain hybrid and electric vehicles, as Ezgi Dogmus and Ana Villamor of market analysis firm Yole Développement report in “Power SiC in the EV Era: Fasten Your Seat Belts.” The Yole analysts trace SiC’s rise in the automotive market back to 2017, when Tesla adopted the technology for the main inverter. Other automotive OEMs soon gave SiC a look for their own EV models. Yole now expects the automotive SiC market — includ- ing on-board charger and DC/DC applications as well as inverters — to exceed $2 billion in 2026.
The industry is betting that automotive platforms will be a springboard for SiC’s expansion into more conservative power electronics, enabling the technological maturation that will result in more reliable device yields and more affordable devices. Our analysis looks at key players in the SiC supply chain and examines the issues around SiC wafer supply and capacity.
We consulted executives from STMicroelectronics, Rohm Semiconductor, and Infineon Technologies — a sampling of the high-profile companies entrenched in this industry at the time of publication — for their take on the technology’s future. Likely drivers for SiC growth beyond vehicle electrification, they told us, are photovoltaic inverters and energy storage systems, UPS systems, power supply units for data servers, and industrial motor drives, as well as the broader electromobility and renewable energy industries. The supply chain problems that once dogged the industry have eased, but the executives stressed the importance of OEM partnerships with Tier 1 suppliers to ensure that device supplies are adequate to serve requirements.
In summary, with insights from the analysts tracking SiC technology and the companies and industries developing and deploying SiC power devices, our market overview provides a snapshot of how SiC’s benefits are helping to trans- form the automotive market now, which industries will reap those benefits next, and which players are positioned to capitalize on SiC market growth.
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