By Neil Tyler, Editor, editor@newelectronics.co.uk
A manufacturer of drive technologies and electrification solutions, Vitesco Technologies has signed a US$1bn long-term supply partnership with ROHM through to 2030.
The development partnership with ROHM began back in 2020 and this new agreement has secured strategically important capacities in silicon carbide power semiconductors.
Vitesco’s advanced inverters with integrated ROHM SiC chips are set to be adopted by two customers and be applied inside electric vehicle powertrains. Vitesco will start supplying a first series project as early as 2024.
SiC devices enable the design of particularly efficient power electronics, such as those needed for electric car inverters and are a key technology, particularly for high voltages and for vehicles with demanding range targets and optimum overall efficiency. During the existing development partnership with ROHM the relevant SiC chips were further optimised for use in automotive inverters starting in 2024.
“The supply partnership agreement with ROHM is an important building block for securing Vitesco Technologies’ SiC capacities in the years ahead,” said CEO of Vitesco Technologies, Andreas Wolf at the signing ceremony in Regensburg.
“In the high-growth automotive market, SiC is a pathfinder for higher efficiency. With an expected higher market share of more than 30 percent, we are strongly positioned here and have gained a strategic partner in Vitesco Technologies for further market penetration,” said Member of the Board, Managing Executive Officer and CFO of ROHM Dr. Kazuhide Ino.
Silicon carbide belongs to the so-called wide bandgap semiconductors, whose wide bandgap enables lower electrical resistance, fast and low loss switching chips for power electronics. At the same time, SiC chips are more thermally resistant, so that the power density of electronics can be increased.
As a consequence, SiC electronics have reduced conversion losses compared to conventional silicon (Si). Especially at high voltage levels such as 800 V, SiC inverters are more efficient than Si models. Since 800 V is the prerequisite for fast, convenient high-voltage charging, SiC devices are helping to drive a worldwide boom.
Reduced conversion losses in the inverter are also significant for the overall efficiency of electric driving and can improve range.
Competition for sufficient capacities in components made of this high-tech material is however increasingly fierce – hence the importance of the agreement between ROHM and Vitesco.
