SiC and GaN to gain 13 percent of a $23B market
Power discretes to rise by 77 percent in 2024
Power electronics will grow to a market worth $23 billion for discrete components in 2024, up 77 percent from $13 billion today according to Lux Research.
Silicon-based devices will remain the main technology of choice with an 87 percent share, but new SiC and GaN technologies will be the fastest-growing - at 30 percent and 32 percent annual rates respectively. Together, they will gain a combined 13 percent share in 2024.
"As power demands in applications from consumer electronics to the power grid get more demanding, silicon is running up against physical limits, offering opportunities for both SiC and GaN," said Pallavi Madakasira, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report titled, 'Sizing-up the $23 Billion Discrete Power Electronics Market in 2024.'
"GaN is a direct threat to silicon, as it can replace silicon in many applications, while SiC transistors can actually create additional new opportunities for silicon in high-voltage applications that will use SiC and silicon components together," she added.
Lux Research evaluated the $23 billion market for discrete power electronics, assessing market drivers and diverse technologies. Among its findings are that consumer electronics and IT will account for 48 percent of the market in 2024, or about $11 billion. Consumer electronics make up most of this segment, expanding from $7 billion in 2014 to $10 billion in 2024, driven by growth of low-power tablet computers as well as ongoing popularity of mobile phones.
The transportation market, worth nearly $1.2 billion in 2024, will be the big driver for both SiC and GaN. Transportation uses will account for 65 percent of the total market for SiC and 41 percent of the total market for GaN.
Notwithstanding their high growth rates, SiC and GaN remain a small total share of the market. For SiC, high costs will make SiC transistors less viable in many applications, while GaN's adoption will be held back by delayed product roll-outs and capacity expansions.
