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: SEMICONDUCTORS AUTOMOTIVE

All of these devices compete heavily at the 650-V range of applications. Depending on their device power
capacity, which is important, as these devices are used ratings, these materials can find applications in a
in the 400-V capacity bus for EVs. variety of industries.

EVs are a critical application for these newly adopted There are also projections showing that the SiC
high-bandgap devices, as the market is expected to market is expected to be worth $6.5 billion by 2027.
expand. This transformation is taking place owing to GaN devices will dominate the low-power mobile
the rapid electrification across sectors and increased application industry, with more devices expected to
consciousness about emissions. They can be seen in reach the market with power densities higher than
motor drivers, DC/DC converters, on-board chargers, 20 W/in. . These devices are expected to bring
3
etc. significant efficiency improvements and offer user
convenience.
SiC is expected to have an edge in the EV sector,
as more and more manufacturers are moving toward Unfortunately, SiC substrate and GaN epitaxy on
800-V EV systems, due to its efficient high-voltage silicon substrate production is more complicated and
operational capability. Transitioning to higher- labor-intensive than that of silicon wafers, and this
voltage systems enables higher power delivery while drives up cost. Moreover, the SiC and GaN market
maintaining the same current levels. This allows copper is much smaller, and it is a long way from a large-
conductors and other components to be smaller, scale standardized division of labor, as the main
lighter, and less expensive. process technologies are in the hands of a few select
businesses. To overcome such issues, SiC and GaN
Manufacturers like Porsche, Audi, BYD, and Hyundai must be mass-produced, which will bring economies-
are already working on 800-V battery systems, while of-scale cost reductions.
Lucid has a 900-V system under development. As
Veliadis said, “Moving to 800 V while keeping the
current the same doubles the power, with smaller
losses. This reduces heavy copper cables, bringing Six Ways to Achieve
lighter weight and space-saving advantages.”

Once adopted successfully into the EV space, Mass-Market EV
the demand for SiC devices will further increase
manufacturing. This will eventually scale down prices
similar to silicon-based devices after mass production. Adoption
The decrease in cost is an important step, as these
devices are more expensive than silicon, with SiC
material costing almost 2× to 3× as much as silicon.
By Anne-Françoise Pelé, editor-in-chief of EE Times Europe
Apart from the high cost, manufacturing SiC has
its own set of challenges, such as the presence As part of the Green Deal, the European Union has the Netherlands have also committed to having 100%
of defects and slower fabrication times compared set an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by of new buses use zero-emission technologies in the
with silicon, and SiC devices are less rugged. This 2050 and has decided to ban the sale of new fossil- coming years.
discourages people from adopting SiC-based systems fuel cars after 2035. Electric-car unit sales grew last
and is a challenge to overcome. Due to their high- year by nearly 70%, to 2.3 million, but some barriers “The main challenge is not increasing public
voltage potential, SiC devices are excellent candidates to electric-vehicle adoption can only be overcome by transport ridership” but achieving public transit fleet
for deployment in power applications like HVDC effective strategies and practices. electrification, said Amos Haggiag, co-founder and CEO
transmission and renewable energy systems. For of Optibus. “If you take the 10,000 to 11,000 buses in
example, in the case of PV applications, although the In a panel session at the recent Energy Tech Summit London and make them electric, there isn’t enough
SiC device cost is 3× higher than that of silicon, the in Warsaw, Poland, e-mobility pundits discussed six electricity to power them all. You have to spread the
overall system cost is lower due to the reduction in the ways to make mass-market EV adoption a reality. charging load in a way that you won’t have too many
size of the passive elements. vehicles charging at the same time. A lot of the work
MANAGING CHARGING LOAD we do is to prioritize when you charge, how long you
Despite the challenges they face, wide-bandgap Public transportation is an effective way for cities to charge, and which vehicle to use.”
devices are projected to be widely adopted across reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, London
many industries and markets. Today, SiC and GaN Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all new buses Founded in 2014, Optibus has developed a cloud-
are the only wide-bandgap semiconductor materials would be electric and that the bus fleet would be native AI platform that plans and runs public transit
with commercially available power devices for a wide fully electric by 2034 or sooner. Austria, Denmark, and networks in 1,000 cities around the world.

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