EV Power Semiconductors, 2022: Frost Radar Report

The global power semiconductor market is forecast to record rapid growth with the increasing demand for EVs. Favourable government policies and subsidies and OEM commitment to net-zero emissions and sustainability targets contribute to the growing EV penetration.

In 2021, global EV sales, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), totalled 5.8 million units, exhibiting a growth of 79.3% over 2020. Pure electric vehicles (BEVs) made up 71.5% of global EV sales. The publisher expects the global EV market to register continuous double-digit growth until the end of the decade. The publisher anticipates silicon carbide (SiC)-based power semiconductors to account for 20.0%-25.0% of the overall power semiconductors market in EVs by 2025-2026, from less than 5.0% in 2021.

The power semiconductors market is expected to benefit from the surge in EV adoption worldwide. An EV has 2 to 3 times more semiconductor content in terms of dollar value compared to conventional ICE vehicles. Power semiconductors account for about 75.0% of this incremental semiconductor content in EVs.

Power semiconductors are deployed in onboard chargers, converters, drives, motors, battery management systems, and other vehicle convenience and safety features. These semiconductors contribute to compactness, weight reduction, and reduced power consumption resulting in longer-range, high-performance EVs.

Major power semiconductor types are power discrete and modules (diodes, transistors, and thyristors) and power ICs (switching regulators, controllers, and power management ICs).

Silicon-based semiconductors have been the building blocks of electronics for more than 50 years. However, the limitations of silicon in operating at a high voltage and high frequency with low switching speed make it unsuitable for the high-power electronics capabilities of existing and futuristic applications like EVs.

The industry is moving toward two wide band-gap technologies - silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium-nitride (GaN). WBG semiconductors overcome the limitations observed in silicon, thereby propelling the evolution of power electronics. SiC- and GaN-based components such as MOSFETs and diodes can be used for designing various power electronic circuits such as drive inverters, battery chargers, wireless charging circuits, and DC/DC converters in an electric vehicle.

This report reveals the market positioning of companies in the EV power semiconductors landscape using Growth and Innovation scores as highlighted in the methodology. The key global companies in the EV power semiconductor market identified by the publisher are Infineon Technologies (Infineon), STMicroelectronics, Wolfspeed, onsemi, ROHM, Texas Instruments, Nexperia, Leapers Semiconductor, SEMIKRON, Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi Power Semiconductor Device (Hitachi), Microchip Technology, and Littelfuse.

The report presents the competitive profiles of each company based on their strengths, opportunities, and a small discussion on their positioning. The publisher analyzes hundreds of companies in an industry and benchmarks them across ten criteria, where the leading companies in the industry are then positioned.