February/March 2021

OPINION 5 www.power-mag.com Issue 1 2021 Power Electronics Europe Global investment in renewable energy capacity moved up 2 % to $303 billion in 2020. This was the second-highest annual figure ever (after 2017’s $313.3 billion), and the seventh consecutive total of more than $250 billion. A geographical split of BNEF’s energy transition investment data shows that Europe accounted for the biggest slice of global investment, at $166 billion (up 67 %), with China at $135 billion (down 12 %) and the USA at $85 billion (down 11 %). Europe’s impressive performance was driven by a record year for electric vehicle sales, and the best year in renewable energy investment since 2012. Silicon devices such as IGBTs are benefiting from mature infrastructure and processes. New device generations are coming to the market. In addition to performance improvements, Si IGBT costs will further be reduced thanks to a 12-inch Si wafer transition that will make the competition with WBG materials even tougher. In 2019 the whole power semiconductor device market segment was worth $17.5 billion, with an expected CAGR by market researcher Yole for 2019-2025 of 4.3 %. IGBT modules, which represented $3.7 billion in 2019, are traditionally used in applications such as industrial or renewable energy converters. These applications are today driven by efficiency regulations or increasing clean energy goals, and they account for 46 % of the total IGBT module market. Nevertheless, the key application for power IGBT modules is undoubtedly EV/HEV, with an expected growth of 18 % from 2019 to 2025. Following Tesla’s adoption of SiC in its Model 3 main inverter, automotive has become the killer application for SiC, according to Yole. Since then, SiC has entered the priority list of almost all carmakers. While Chinese BYD has also chosen SiC in its premium models in 2020, Audi, Volkswagen, and Hyundai are expected to adopt SiC in their next generation models. Despite the global slowdown in H1-2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak, design wins for SiC solutions have recently multiplied, with a bright market outlook for 2019-2025 period. In this context, the SiC automotive market is expected to grow to exceed $1.5 billion in 2025, with a 38 % CAGR. Along with EV applications, SiC is of great interest to the charging infrastructure market, which is growing significantly. High-power traction inverters represent a huge new business opportunity for suppliers of SiC devices, suitable device packaging solutions, and SiC-based systems. Also, interest in GaN has recently revived, mainly as a potential candidate for future EV/HEV 12 – 48 VDC converters and onboard chargers. 2021 will see more 48 V battery systems, particularly in mild hybrids, as manufacturers add active suspension, rear wheel steering or antiroll stabilization systems, expects Vicor. Supporting this move, more 48 V systems will need to convert down to 12 V to support car safety, comfort, infotainment, and navigation systems. In addition to enabling lighter cabling or delivering higher power, the conversion from the high-voltage batteries in HEVs and EVs is more efficient when the step down required is reduced by increasing the voltage to 48 V. Primary battery voltages used to power EVs and HEVs will also increase in voltage with 800 V becoming much more common allowing faster charging time. These changes demand a new class of power components to create the power distribution network within next year’s automobiles. Regarding automotive in 2021 GaN Systems foresees advances in power systems with GaN technology and battery technology which are driving significant OEM and Tier 1 supplier adoption for EVs and addressing past concerns around range anxiety and car purchase price. The story of GaN in EV’s will shift to become more of a narrative about enhanced performance and new capabilities for vehicle designs. By 2025, one of every 10 vehicles sold worldwide will be a 48 V mild hybrid, expects EPC. 48 V systems boost fuel efficiency by 10- 15 % delivering 4X the power without increasing engine size, and carbon-dioxide emissions by 25 %.The need for 48 V bus power distribution becomes increasingly evident with all the new power hungry electronically driven functions and features appearing on the latest cars such as electric start-stop, electric steering, electric suspension, electric turbo-supercharging, or variable speed air conditioning. And now, with the emergence of autonomous vehicles, additional demands from lidar, radar, camera, and ultrasonic sensors, are placed upon the power distribution system. These require high performance graphic processors to gather, interpret, integrate, and to make sense of it all. These processors are very power hungry and put an additional burden on traditional automotive 12 V electrical distribution buses. For 48 V bus systems, GaN technology increases the efficiency, shrinks the size, and reduces system cost. Due to the fast switching speed GaN-based solutions can operate at 250 kHz per phase as oppose to 125 kHz for traditional MOSFET solutions, reducing both size and cost. Thus, after ten years of its market introduction, 2021 is seen as the year of GaN, not only in automotive. We at Power Electronics Europe have inspired the power electronics community to implement new technologies and devices over the years and will continue to do so. Enjoy reading this issue! Achim Scharf PEE Editor The Year of Power GaN