▲Rexin Wang, presenter at the 2023 Wolfspeed Power Technical Roadshow

'2023 Wolfspeed Power Technical Roadshow' held
SiC, switching loss, thermal resistance, power usage cost ↓ compared to silicon

As the demand for large-capacity and highly efficient power devices increases in various power devices such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, and ESS, and as the renewable energy market develops, silicon carbide (SiC) is emerging as a trend.

On the 22nd, Wolfspeed held the '2023 Wolfspeed Power Technical Roadshow' at COEX in Seoul and shared various information such as Wolfspeed's SiC advantages and SiC in solar power and ESS.

SiC has excellent thermal conductivity and reliability, and has lower thermal resistance than silicon when the die size is the same. In addition, it is attracting attention as a key element of power supply for devices where power supply efficiency and power density are important, as it can reduce switching loss compared to silicon and allow the design of smaller peripheral components such as inductors.

Although SiC has clear advantages, it is not easy to manufacture because the process is performed at 2500 degrees Celsius and it has the characteristic of sublimating directly from a solid to a gas.

Wolfspeed has been targeting the SiC market with over 35 years of experience in the SiC field and solid research and development, and currently has a 62% share of the global SiC wafer market.

Over the past 10 years, Wolfspeed has produced over 1 million 150mm wafers, an area equivalent to 12 football fields.

Wolfspeed also announced plans to invest $5 billion last year to increase SiC wafer production tenfold compared to the previous year, investing 86% of its profits generated from SiC in 2022 and 93% in 2023 as CAPEX (capital expenditure).

Last September, Wolfspeed announced it would invest $2 billion to build a new SiC manufacturing facility in Chatham County, North Carolina, near its existing Durham plant, with completion targeted for 2024. The production of 200mm SiC wafers is expected to increase SiC semiconductor production per wafer and reduce costs, and the new 200mm wafers produced here are scheduled to be supplied to the Mohawk Valley fab, which opened in early 2022.

Additionally, the fab being built in Sarrland, Germany, is expected to generate an additional $2.6 billion in annual revenue once completed, bringing total annual revenue to $5.6 billion within five years.

“SiC is well suited for solar and ESS as environmental regulations are increasing and demand for renewable energy is increasing,” said Rexin Wang, a presenter at the Power Technical Roadshow. “SiC can increase system efficiency and power density while reducing system costs.”

The U.S. has announced a new proposal for its 2022 budget reconciliation bill that would invest about $369 billion in energy security and climate change programs over the next decade, and has announced a plan to cut carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.

The European Union will require solar panels on all public and commercial rooftops larger than 250 square meters by 2027, and on new residential buildings by 2029.

SiC can be applied to solar strings, central inverters and ESS segments, and can also be utilized in applications such as MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker) boosters.

Rexin cited global new solar installations expected to increase 41.2% from 170 GW to 240 GW between 2021 and 2022.

If this trend continues, it is expected to increase to 360 GW by 2027.