Excitement over battery electric vehicles has led silicon carbide wafer makers to plan a more than threefold increase in capacity—surpassing ten million 150-millimeter wafer equivalents by 2027. Senior partner Bill Wiseman and colleagues note that while established players currently dominate the market, emerging companies are a large proportion of the announced growth. But these emerging companies may have difficulty meeting their projections because of their lack of experience in the market, which may reduce their product yield.
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A pair of tree maps show the projected increase in total announced silicon carbide (SiC) wafer capacity (measured in 150-millimeter wafer equivalents) between 2023 and 2027. The chart is broken down by company type (established and emerging) and region (Mainland China and the rest of the world). In 2023, the total announced production capacity was 2.8 million 150-mm SiC wafer equivalents. For Mainland China, 0.7 million units were from established companies and 0.8 million were from emerging companies. For the rest of the world, 1.2 million units were from established companies and 0.1 million were from emerging companies. For 2027, a roughly 8.0-million-unit increase is expected, with total announced projected capacity at 10.9 million 150-mm SiC wafer equivalents. For Mainland China, 2.5 million of those units will be from established companies and 2.9 million from emerging companies. For the rest of the world, 4.8 million of those units will be from established companies and 0.7 million from emerging companies.
Source: EV Volumes; International Council on Clean Transportation; S&P Global; McKinsey Center for Future Mobility.
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To read the article, see “Managing uncertainty in the silicon carbide wafer market,” August 6, 2024.