Silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors have been manufactured for decades, but only recently has the technology become in high demand as the automotive market accelerates its biggest transition to electrification.

Due to exponential growth in government requirements for climate change and, perhaps more importantly, consumer demand, automotive OEMs plan to make battery-electric models the primary sales vehicle over the next 10 to 15 years.

This shift to electrification is increasingly defining the overall market demand for automotive power semiconductors. Initially, the automotive power market was dominated by silicon IGBTs and MOSFETs, with opportunities for wide-bandgap semiconductors such as SiC and gallium nitride (GaN) limited to early adopters such as Tesla.

But with the current shift to battery-electric vehicles and the continued transition of automotive OEMs to electrified fleets, demand for silicon carbide is soaring.

According to market research firm TechInsights, the overall SiC market for electric vehicle production will reach $9.6 billion in revenue by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 37 percent through 2027. Asif Anwar, executive director of TechInsights' automotive practice, also said, "However, we expect Other power electronics semiconductor demand will not disappear, with silicon-based IGBTs, MOSFETs and diodes still accounting for 50 percent of the overall market demand at that time."

By 2030, the automotive power market - power MOSFETs, IGBTs and SiC semiconductors - will generate $26.6 billion in revenue. That's almost double this year's revenue of $12.6 billion. The automotive power chip market is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.0% over the next five years.

That said, the use of silicon carbide will depend on the type of electric vehicle being built.

For mild hybrids, the segment will continue to rely on the use of silicon MOSFETs, but may use GaN technology if prices can be reduced to match current MOSFETs. techInsights said that in full hybrids and plug-in hybrids, due to the cost effectiveness of mainstream silicon IGBT and MOSFET technologies, SiC and wide-bandgap technologies such as GaN are not ideal.

Full-cell EVs will be the primary driver of SiC chips in main inverters, which will be joined by increased use in power electronics systems such as DC-DC converters and on-board chargers. while SiC chips are much more expensive than other technologies, TechInsights said, the advantages of these technologies in terms of reduced size and weight, as well as system performance and battery life, will, in the long run help increase the popularity of electric vehicles.

The company is already planning and hoping for this growth to become a huge revenue generator. Earlier this month, ST, which accounts for about 50 percent of the overall automotive silicon carbide market, said it would establish a 200mm silicon carbide manufacturing joint venture with Sanan Optoelectronics in Chongqing, China.

OnSemi has been making big investments and deals, signing a 10-year SiC deal with automotive electronics maker Vitesco Technologies. In addition, the company has committed to expanding SiC production at one of its fabs with $2 billion in new investment, following a different supply agreement with EV charger maker Kempower.

X-Fab said it will spend $200 million to expand its Lubbock, Texas, chip plant to produce more SiC devices, and Bosch acquired U.S. semiconductor foundry TSI Semiconductors to expand its own SiC chip portfolio by the end of 2030. Bosch gave the expected transformation of automotive electrification as the reason for the acquisition.

In February, Wolfspeed Inc. said it would build its first semiconductor plant in Europe, a 200 mm wafer fab for SiC devices. The fab will be built in Saarland, Germany, as part of Wolfspeed's broader $6.5 billion capacity expansion plan, which will also see the company expand its other SiC operations in the United States.

Other companies such as Texas Instruments (TI) and Skyworks are also accelerating plans to develop SiC semiconductors primarily for the automotive market, but will also play a role in other popular markets.