Both in the industry and the secondary market, there is a continuous increase in silicon carbide (SiC) tracks.
The rapid development of new energy vehicles has become an important driving force for the rapid growth of demand for SiC power electronic devices. SiC power devices have undergone development from PFC power sources to photovoltaic applications, and new energy vehicles, charging facilities, rail transit, etc. will be the main driving forces in the next decade. According to data, the demand for silicon carbide driven by automotive electronics is expected to generate a market of 5.9-6.5 billion US dollars in 2025 due to the elastic center of demand for automotive inverters.
Although the price of silicon carbide is much higher than that of silicon semiconductors, car manufacturers still have a high willingness to adopt it, mainly because silicon carbide has low energy loss, high pressure resistance, high temperature resistance, high-frequency characteristics, etc. It is not only suitable for use in harsh automotive environments, but also can reduce system costs and increase power density. With the maturity of industry chain technology and continuous expansion of production capacity, future applications in downstream markets such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaic inverters, and consumer electronics are expected to accelerate penetration.
Industry analysis firm DIGITIMES Research pointed out that silicon carbide has a faster import speed in main drive inverters and on-board chargers (OBCs), as it is beneficial for improving system efficiency and reducing battery capacity in driving inverters, which best demonstrates a system level cost advantage. The application of silicon carbide in the automotive field not only helps to reduce system costs, but also shows a decreasing trend in price year by year. Taking 6-inch silicon carbide wafers as an example, the price in 2021 is approximately $1000, and it is estimated that it will decrease to $700 by 2023; In terms of silicon carbide component prices, it is estimated that the price difference between silicon based components and silicon based components will reach 2.5 times the sweet point in 2023, which means that when introducing mid range models, car manufacturers can still make profits.
In terms of the main drive inverter, silicon carbide is most advantageous in improving system efficiency and reducing battery capacity, demonstrating a system level cost advantage; For example, in 2021, the introduction of silicon carbide main drive inverters for mid to high-end models will result in a total cost reduction of over $160 for the entire vehicle, and it is estimated that the total cost will be further reduced by over $230 by 2023;
In terms of car chargers, introducing silicon carbide can reduce charging time through high power and increase power density to reduce volume. At present, the mainstream specification of car chargers is 6.6kW. It is estimated that 11kW or above will gradually become the mainstream specification in 2022 and beyond. With the increasing power, it is more conducive to the introduction of high specification 1200V silicon carbide components. It is expected that by 2023, the price difference between silicon carbide and silicon based components will reach 2.5 times the sweet point.
According to the prediction of Jibang Consulting, with the increasing trend of high-pressure automotive platforms, it is estimated that the demand for 6-inch silicon carbide wafers in the electric vehicle market will reach 1.69 million pieces by 2025. The global market size of silicon carbide power devices will increase from $680 million in 2020 to $3.39 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 38%. Among them, the main inverters, OBCs (in vehicle chargers), and DC-DCs (power modules) of new energy vehicles will become the main driving forces, or occupy 62% of the market share in 2025.
