Japanese semiconductor companies are entering the rapidly growing power semiconductor market in the era of electric vehicles.
Demand for power semiconductors, which have not been in the spotlight for not needing high-tech processes and not being profitable compared to memory semiconductors, is soaring as the electric vehicle market grows rapidly.
Japanese companies believe that there is little chance of winning in the memory semiconductor sector, which has already been dominated by Korea and Taiwan, and plan to take the lead in the power semiconductor market by utilizing their strengths in the materials and devices sector.
“Power semiconductors grow 2.6 times by 2030”
Power semiconductors are commonly referred to as semiconductors used to convert electricity into power.
Even within the same product, there are differences in the way voltage and current flow for each component, so power semiconductors adjust the voltage and change the flow of current.
Until now, power semiconductors have been mainly used for white home appliances, but now they have become an indispensable part of improving electric vehicle performance.
Among them, silicon carbide (SiC carbide) semiconductors, known as next-generation models, use artificial compounds as materials, and are characterized by much higher power efficiency than existing semiconductors that used only silicon, a single element.
According to a survey by Fujizai, Japan, the global power semiconductor market is expected to grow 2.6 times from 2.3386 trillion yen as of this year to 5.3587 trillion yen in 2030.
Among them, the next-generation silicon carbide power semiconductor market is expected to grow 12.8 times from 120.6 billion yen as of this year to 969.4 billion yen in 2030.
Japanese companies are stepping up production in unison, believing that now is the right time to grow the power semiconductor market.
On the 1st, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun announced that Japanese semiconductor company ROMH has begun mass-production of next-generation silicon carbide power semiconductors.
Toshiba has decided to invest about 80 billion yen from 2020 to 2023 to increase production at its Ishikawa prefecture plant by 30 percent from the present.
The company plans to expand production of silicon wafers, which are used as semiconductor substrates, from 150,000 to 200,000 units per month, and increase annual sales of 150 billion yen to 200 billion yen.
Fuji Electric also decided to invest 120 billion yen at home and abroad during the same period to increase its silicon wafer process production capacity by 30% compared to 2019.
Mitsubishi Electric, which holds the world’s second-largest market share in the field of IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) modules, a type of power semiconductor, will increase production by purchasing the plant of Sharp, an electronics company.
In addition, it spent 20 billion yen last year to establish a new plant and began operation in November.
Japan lags behind South Korea and Taiwan in memory semiconductors, but it has a three-tier structure in power semiconductors along with Germany and the United States.
Japan plans to expand its investment in electricity semiconductors to further solidify its leadership in the market.
Samsung Electronics and TSMC, which had been competing in the 7-nanometer memory semiconductor market by increasing the difficulty of technology every two years, are now competing for technology over 3M.
Japanese companies, which dominated the semiconductor market until the 1980s, are currently only producing 40 millimeters of semiconductors as their main semiconductors.On the other hand, Japan still has a considerable market share in the power semiconductor field.
According to British market research firm Omdia, the global power semiconductor market is worth about 15.36 trillion won, of which three Japanese companies, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, and Fuji Electric, account for 20% of the market.
Although it lags behind Samsung Electronics and TSMC in fine process technology, Japan was able to secure competitiveness in the power semiconductor market thanks to its strength in producing core materials and equipment for semiconductors.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government has provided full support to companies to foster semiconductor competitiveness. The decision is based on the judgment that both hands should not be left alone to stably supply and demand semiconductors, the core of economic security and a major resource for future industries.
On the 8th, Kishida Fumio’s cabinet approved the second supplementary budget for next year and decided to invest 1.3 trillion yen in the semiconductor industry.
First of all, with a budget of 370 billion yen, the company plans to build a supply chain to secure silicon wafers, which are essential parts of power semiconductors, and silicon carbide used in next-generation power semiconductors.
Japan is investing 350 billion yen in establishing a semiconductor research base in cooperation with the U.S. to produce 2의 semiconductors from the late 2020s from the late 2020s. In addition, it plans to provide 450 billion yen worth of subsidies to semiconductor companies to secure production bases in Korea.
This includes funding for TSMC, Japan’s third-largest NAND flash company, and Micron Technology of the United States.
It will also provide 70 billion yen, including the cost of maintaining its R&D base, to high-tech semiconductor companies established by eight leading Japanese companies, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony.
Nihon Keizai analyzed that if Japan, which lost to South Korea and Taiwan in fine process technology, is to regain its competitiveness in semiconductors, the Japanese government’s full support must continue.
According to a survey by the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), Japan is spending 20 to 40 percent more on operating memory semiconductor plants compared to China and Korea.
This is because the Japanese government’s support policy lags behind the two countries, Nihon Keizai pointed out.
“Korea and China are easier to operate semiconductor factories in all areas of labor and tax as well as land prices and construction materials,” Nihon Keizai said. “In the semiconductor industry, the government should invest hundreds of billions to 1 trillion yen in building new factories.”
TED PARK
ASIA JOURNAL
