The silicon carbide market has gained significant traction in recent years due to the growing use of green energy technologies across the world. Silicon carbide semiconductors are widely used in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, and other renewable energy equipment owing to their superior conductivity and ability to withstand high voltages and temperatures. These advantages make silicon carbide an ideal material for developing high-power systems and power modules that can increase the efficiency of green energy harvesting and storage applications. The Global Silicon Carbide Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 10.51 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 11% over the forecast period from 2024 to 2031.

Silicon carbide, also known as carborundum, is a semiconductor material that is nearly twice as hard as diamond. It has high thermal conductivity, high electron mobility, wide bandgap, high breakdown electric field, and excellent thermal stability. These properties allow Silicon Carbide Market Share to function in harsh and high-temperature environments. It is used in making fast switching devices, rectifiers, fast recovery diodes, and other components required in power electronics applications. The growing demand for electric vehicles, solar farms, and modernized power grids is fueling the need for more efficient power electronic devices based on silicon carbide technology.

Key Takeaways

Key players operating in the silicon carbide market are STMicroelectronics, Infineon Technologies AG, Cree Inc., Microchip Technology Inc., ON Semiconductor, Toshiba Corporation, General Electric, Fairchild Semiconductor, and Renesas Electronics.

The rising adoption of electric vehicles globally is driving increased demand for silicon carbide semiconductors. Silicon carbide power modules provide higher efficiency than conventional silicon modules and enable faster charging of EVs.

Major semiconductor manufacturers are expanding their silicon carbide wafer production capacities to cater to the growing demand from Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Emerging economies are also expected to contribute significantly to the global silicon carbide market growth over the coming years.

Market Key Trends

One of the key trends in the Silicon Carbide Market is the shift towards wide bandgap semiconductor materials like silicon carbide for developing next-generation power electronics. Silicon carbide devices have lower switching and conduction losses compared to silicon. They enable the development of smaller, lighter, and more powerful power electronic components for a wide range of industries including automotive, renewable energy, power supplies, motor drives, and consumer appliances. This increasing adoption of silicon carbide in commercial power electronics applications is expected to significantly drive the demand over the forecast period.

Porter’s Analysis

Threat of new entrants: The silicon carbide market requires high initial capital investments and R&D spending. Established players have achieved economies of scale in production.

Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers have moderate bargaining power. The availability of substitutes provides some leverage to buyers to negotiate on price.

Bargaining power of suppliers: Few suppliers exist for raw materials like silicon metal and petroleum coke. This gives them significant power over buyers.

Threat of new substitutes: Some substitutes exist for specific applications like aluminum nitride, but silicon carbide has better thermal conductivity and strength.

Competitive rivalry: The market has some large players and competition is based on technical support, pricing and new product development.

Geographical Regions

Asia Pacific accounts for more than 40% of the global market value due to extensive usage of SiC in the automotive and PV industries in China, Japan, and South Korea.

North America is the fastest growing regional market stimulated by high demand from the electric vehicle, PV and power electronics segments. Advanced applications in 5G, EV charging and energy storage are driving growth.

*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it.