Infineon Technologies AG will expand its supply of power semiconductors with what it claims is the world’s largest 200 mm silicon carbide (SiC) fab in Kulim, Malaysia.
The SiC market is expanding rapidly as the automotive market continues its largest transition to electrified models due to consumer demand and government and regional mandates to combat climate change. Simultaneously, the world is investing significantly in renewable energy such as solar and wind, which also require power chips.
While originally announced last year, the fab in Malaysia will be expanded even further due to the demand for power semiconductors coming in the automotive and renewable energy markets. Infineon said the expansion is backed by commitments to cover about $5.5 billion of design wins in the automotive and industrial applications space.
Next five years
Infineon said over the next five years it will invest up to $5.5 billion in the Kulim fab during its second construction phase. The investment is expected to bring in annual SiC revenue potential of about $7 billion by the end of the decade. Infineon is also converting its Villach, Germany, fab into a 200 mm SiC facility. The moves are part of Infineon’s goal to grow its SiC marketing share to 30% by the end of the decade.
Infineon said the design wins will include six OEMs in the automotive sector with three coming from China. These include Ford, SAIC and Chery. In renewables, SolarEdge and three Chinese photovoltaic and energy storage system companies are part of the design wins. Additionally, Schneider Electric has agreed on capacity reservation including prepayments for power products based on silicon and SiC.
Others investing
It is not just Infineon investing heavily in SiC semiconductors, banking on the growth to be a huge revenue generator by the end of the decade. Many companies are forming exclusive supply deals.
Earlier this month, ST Microelectronics, which accounts for about 50% of the overall automotive SiC market, said it will build a 200 mm SiC manufacturing joint venture with Sanan Optoelectronics in Chongqing, China.
OnSemi has been on a spending and deal spree, signing a 10-year SiC agreement with automotive electric equipment maker Vitesco Technologies. Additionally, the company pledged to expand its SiC production at one of its fabs with a new $2 billion investment after making a different supply deal with EV charger maker Kempower.
X-Fab said it would expand its Lubbock, Texas, chip fab by $200 million for more SiC devices and Bosch acquired U.S. semiconductor foundry TSI Semiconductors to expand its own portfolio of SiC chips through the end of 2030. Bosch gave the anticipated automotive electrification transition as the reason for the acquisition.
In February, Wolfspeed Inc. said it would build its first semiconductor fab in Europe, a 200 mm wafer factory for SiC devices. The fab will be built in Saarland, Germany, and is part of Wolfspeed’s broader $6.5 billion capacity expansion effort that will also see the company expand its other SiC operations in the U.S.
Other companies like Texas Instruments and Skyworks are also accelerating plans to develop SiC semiconductors primarily for the automotive market but will play in other hot markets as well.
