It is anticipated that the market for automotive GaN on silicon technology will continue to expand at a CAGR of 21.2% during the forecast period of 2022-2030. For decades, silicon has remained integral to the technology industry. As there has been a dearth of innovation over the years, the demand has been restricted to a small number of different industries.
GaN-on-Silicon Technology Expected to Reduce Vehicle Charging Time Considerably
A boost in OBC efficiency will result in a shorter amount of time spent charging a vehicle. At this time, a full charge at a charging station with a capacity of 50 kW takes approximately fifty minutes and results in a range of approximately two hundred kilometres (125 miles). Perfectly acceptable for commuters, but a significant obstacle for anyone planning longer drive.
The target for the industry is to install 35 kW charging stations, which would reduce the amount of time needed to charge an electric vehicle to less than ten minutes. This would be the ideal amount of time which will be equivalent to the amount of time spent for filling gas in a combustion engine vehicle.
The Technology Enabling Efficiency and Driving Range
The DC-DC converter acts as a connection between the high-voltage battery pack and the low-voltage auxiliary circuits in the vehicle. DC-DC converters that make use of GaN semiconductors produce devices that are very efficient. These devices feature the highest power density in their class, which helps reduce power loss and the amount of power that is wasted as heat. Because of this one simple but effective design improvement, the vehicle’s overall weight has been greatly reduced, which has led to an increase in its driving range.
GaN Enables EVs to Achieve Price Parity with Vehicles Powered by Internal Combustion Engines
The traction inverter is located in the drivetrain of an electric vehicle and is responsible for converting the direct current (DC) coming from the battery into alternating current (AC), which is then used by the motor to power the vehicle’s propulsion system. The three-phase alternating current (AC) motors that are the most often utilised in electric vehicles (EVs) nowadays can operate at voltages of up to 1,000 V and switching frequencies of up to 20 kHz. This design gets dangerously near to the operational limits of the silicon-based MOSFETs and insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) that are employed in traction inverters at the present time.
Price Correction & Energy Efficiency Are Challenging the Market Growth
In order to sustain this growth, electric automobiles are being pressured to become both more environmentally friendly and more affordable. While progress is being made on battery development, considerable powertrain advances are being driven through innovation. Increases in the efficiency of each component of an electric vehicle’s powertrain can have a significant impact on the vehicle’s overall efficiency. This is accomplished by a reduction in weight and an overall reduction in physical size, both of which make it possible for alternative design layouts to be implemented.
Organic Growth Strategies Are Primarily Adopted by Key Market Players
Major players are focusing on organic growth techniques such as new launches, product approvals, and a variety of other methods including patents and events. Acquisitions and partnership and cooperation deals were the most common growth strategy observed in the market. The expansion of businesses and their consumer bases has been made possible as a direct result of these strategies. As a result of the growing demand for automotive GaN-on-silicon technology in international markets, market participants in the automotive GaN-on-silicon technology market are likely to benefit from lucrative growth possibilities in the foreseeable future.
Asia Pacific Remains as the Global Leader
In 2021, the Asia-Pacific region dominated the global market with a revenue contribution of about 37.5% during the forecast period 2022 to 2030. In cost-conscious developing countries such as China and India, operational efficiency continues to be a crucial influencer, and GaN-based power devices have witnessed a spike in the uses of this technology in recent years due to their improved performance.
