SiC Wafer Reclaim Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Growing use in electronic vehicles (EVs) - One of the main applications of SiC in EVs is the main inverter, which is the circuit that converts the high DC voltage coming from batteries into the AC voltage required to power the traction electric motor.
  
  As per the estimation, a new sales record means that the SiC wafer reclaim market share of electronic vehicles increased from about 8.7 % in 2021 to more than 14 % by 2022 across the globe.
• Growing use of semiconductors in the production of solar energy - In the area of clean energy, semiconductor technologies have proved to be a game changer. It plays a major role in the manufacture of photovoltaic modules, which have become more and more widely used as an alternate energy source, thus resulting in driving the wafter reclaim market demand in the upcoming years.

• Rising government initiative to increase semiconductor manufacturing - Reclaim service providers have been encouraged to develop innovative technologies and re-manufacture SiC wafers to fulfill rising consumer demands.
  
  For instance, the government of India has approved a comprehensive program for the development of the semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India with an expenditure of USD 10 billion, in line with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the positioning of India as the global ESDM hub. Furthermore, the CHIPS Act of 2022 aimed at strengthening domestic chip production, design and research, increasing the economy's prosperity and security as well as reinforcing America's supply chain for chips was adopted by Congress in July 2022.

Challenges

• Increasing adoption of substitutes - The rapid rise of the SiC wafer reclaim market can be hampered by intensified efforts to find a substitute silicon carbide in wafer manufacturing.
  
  To replace SiC wafers for EV applications, major car manufacturers are replacing SiC wafers with GaNGaN-based wafers. Due to its ability to have high power density and quick-change frequency, GaN is becoming increasingly flexible over SiC.
• High maintenance costs of manufacturing facilities.
• Supply chain issues may hamper the growth of the SiC wafer reclaim market .