On November 6, Infineon, the global IGBT leader, announced that it will increase investment in China to expand the IGBT module production line of its Wuxi factory, which will become one of Infineon’s largest IGBT production bases.
According to reports, the new manufacturing center after completion will produce HybridPACK double-sided cooling modules for electric vehicles, EasyPACK 1A/2A modules and 1B/1B modules for wind power, photovoltaics and many industrial applications, and for household appliances and industries. CIPOS Mini Intelligent Power Module (IPM) and other power module devices in the field.
IGBT is a type of power semiconductor. The latter is divided into MOSFET (40%), IGBT (33%), and diode (27%) according to the working voltage and frequency. Among them, IGBT's integration degree and structural complexity rank first, and it is called the "CPU" in the power electronics industry and the "jewel in the crown" of power semiconductors.
This time Infineon chose to build the Chinese factory into one of its largest production bases in the world, which not only reflects its emphasis on the Chinese market, but also confirms that the demand for IGBTs and the power semiconductors behind it in the domestic market is increasing sharply. , The industry boom cycle may have quietly started.
Industry performance is improving, new energy vehicles may become the strongest driving force
According to the Morgan Stanley report, new energy vehicles, industrial control, and frequency conversion home appliances are the three major markets for IGBTs. Among them, new energy vehicles account for the highest proportion and may reach 27% in the future.
Chen Gang, general manager of BYD Semiconductor, pointed out that new energy vehicles have switched from "electricity" in the first half to "intelligence" in the second half, and intelligence has created a huge market increase for automotive-grade semiconductors, driving diversified semiconductor demand . "The value of semiconductors for new energy vehicles is twice that of traditional fuel vehicles, and it is increasing year by year. It is twice now and may be 10 times in the future."
Under this premise, as a typical automotive-grade semiconductor, the future market scale of IGBT should not be underestimated. The purchase cost of an electric vehicle IGBT is about 450 US dollars per unit, and the purchase amount accounts for 8% to 10% of the total cost of electric vehicles. Take a Tesla Model X as an example, using 132 IGBT single tubes (not modules) provided by Infineon for control, and the total cost is US$650.
By 2020, the domestic IGBT market will exceed 20 billion yuan. According to the Morgan Stanley report, China's IGBT market will grow to 37.9 billion yuan in 2020 from 2020 to 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 15%.
Localization is imminent, these industry chain companies take the lead
The tens of billions market is in sight, but it needs to be pointed out that in the field of IGBT, Chinese IGBT technology companies still face severe challenges.
According to IHS Markit's 2018 report data, Infineon ranks first in the world with a market share of 22.4%, and is a leader in the IGBT field. Except for ZJSD Semiconductor Technology Group, the rest of the top ten are foreign companies, and the industry is still in Under the monopoly of foreign companies.
A research report believes that the growth of IGBTs in the Chinese market is not in demand, but supply is the main contradiction. At present, the localization rate of IGBT is extremely low. In 2018, the market demand is 7 times that of domestic supply. At present, China's IGBT dependence on foreign countries exceeds 90%, and domestic replacement is imminent.
From the perspective of various links in the industry chain, Chinese IDM manufacturers include CRRC Times Electric, BYD, and Silan Micro. The design links include Taiwan Base, New Clean Energy, ZJSD, China Microelectronics, and the manufacturing links include Hua Hong Semiconductor, China Resources Micro, Shanghai Advanced, SMIC, the module link includes Star Semiconductor, Jiejie Microelectronics, Yangjie Technology, Hongwei Technology.
It should be noted that since the IDM model has more advantages in improving product margins and establishing technical barriers, from the perspective of the global IGBT market competition pattern, the overseas leader is dominated by IDM, but there are only three domestic companies.
In addition, as high-power semiconductor devices, IGBTs have higher withstand voltage capabilities and stronger technical barriers, and manufacturers with higher power have higher gross profit margins. However, the current IGBT products of Chinese manufacturers are mostly concentrated in medium and high power (Star Semiconductor, Hua Hong Semiconductor) and low power (Hua Microelectronics, New Clean Energy, SMIC), and only CRRC Times involves high-power IGBT products. electric.
At present, most IGBT companies in China exist in the form of non-main business. In fact, there are only two companies with a relatively high IGBT business: ZJSD and WXHH Semiconductor. The former focuses on design and modules, with 1200V IGBT modules accounting for 75% of revenue, while the latter focuses on foundry, with IGBT/MOSFET accounting for 39% of revenue.
In terms of production capacity, ZJSD has raised funds to expand the production capacity of IGBT modules by 1.2 million per year and IPM modules. It is expected to be put into production in two years and will bring in revenue of 730 million yuan after full production. In 2019, the IGBT production capacity was 4 million per year, and the operating income was 779 million yuan; WXHH Semiconductor's revenue in the first half of 2020 increased by -4.96% year-on-year, of which IGBT increased by 11.9% year-on-year, which is the only business that achieved positive growth among the four categories of revenue .
Slow iteration and long cycle IGBT localization is expected to exceed speed
Although Chinese manufacturers are still growing, the good news is that compared with other semiconductor subdivisions, the domestic substitution of power semiconductors represented by IGBTs is relatively less difficult.
IGBT has the characteristics of relatively slow product update and relatively stable price. According to data, since the 1980s, IGBT chips have only undergone 6-generation upgrades. At present, the IGBT 4th generation defined by Infineon is the mainstream market and has been applied for more than ten years.
At the same time, the verification cycle of IGBT products is long. Generally, customers need 5-10 years to verify reliability and application-side problems. From chip design to module, it takes a long time to accumulate technology and continuously debug in actual applications. Accumulated experience, so the iteration speed is slow.
On this basis, with the support of policies, funds, and talents, Chinese power semiconductor companies have developed rapidly and have made great progress in recent years. In 2020, Chinese manufacturers will accelerate the layout and implementation of IGBT projects and further promote the localization of IGBTs:
The BYD IGBT project started, and the 26 billion yuan IGBT project of CRRC settled in Ganzhou. Zhenhua Technology's IGBT products have been supplied in small quantities. WXHH Semiconductor will make full efforts and build an IGBT ecological chain. HFZH Semiconductor's current production capacity reaches 4000-600 per month Only IGBT modules, and the production capacity ramp is in progress.
On the whole, on the one hand, IGBT is one of the most potential semiconductor power devices, and the current market scale is growing rapidly; on the other hand, domestic manufacturers are running into the market, accelerating production expansion, and the IGBT localization rate has further increased. In the new round of innovation cycle with expansion and acceleration of domestic substitution, Chinese companies are expected to continue to lead the global high growth.