Power electronics discrete components sales will rise

By 2020, fast-growing industrial markets such as renewable energy, rail transit, frequency converters, and industrial power will drive sales of power electronics discrete devices to $15 billion. As the performance of silicon-based power electronic devices approaches the theoretical limit, SiC and GaN devices will enter the power electronics market. It is expected that by 2020, SiC and GaN power devices will gain 14% and 8% respectively. The future development of the power electronic components market will be more focused on the technological innovation of SiC and GaN.

According to Lux Research, by 2020, SiC or GaN-based power electronic components will occupy 22% of the market and sales will reach US$3.3 billion.

SiC devices will lead GaN because of better maturity and reliability. Current leading suppliers of GaN power devices are: EPC (Epic), Transphorm, and IR.

The growth momentum of SiC power devices mainly comes from the renewable energy sector, and the market share in the solar energy market will reach 32%. In the field of rail transit, the application of SiC and GaN is equivalent, and it is expected that by 2020, the market share of the two will be 16% and 15%, respectively. In the IT and electronic equipment market, GaN has more advantages than SiC, and it is estimated that its market share will reach 14% in 2020. In the building market, the prospects for GaN devices are bright, with an estimated $2.4 billion market.

Over the past five years, investors have invested more than US$200 million in SiC and GaN devices. Transphorm, EpiGaN, GaN Systems, and Azzurro have completed several rounds of fundraising; Fairchild acquires TranSiC, Infineon acquires SiCed, ROHM Acquisition of SiCrystal, South Korea SKC acquisition of Crysband.