What can Silicon Carbide Devices Bring to New Energy Vehicles?

Since 2022, Russia-Ukraine geopolitical conflicts have intensified, and global energy prices have risen sharply, with international natural gas prices hitting historic highs. As the most important transitional energy source in the transition from fossil energy to non-fossil energy, the share of natural gas in primary energy has increased from 14.6% in 1965 to 24.7% in 2020.  The global gas price indices showed a unilateral downward trend from 2018, bottomed out in 2020, and remained low for a long time. However, since July 2020, the global gas prices have gradually fluctuated upward, and the impact of geopolitical events made the Dutch TTF gas price even hit record highs repeatedly.

An analyst of a securities company believes that the core catalyst of this round of global gas market lies in the lack of investment in upstream oil and gas resources caused by long-term low prices. Since 2020, although the epidemic has led to a decline in demand, the decline in supply has been faster, resulting in a large inventory consumption. In 2021, demand will recover faster than supply (the supply-side is less sensitive to prices, which will be reflected in investment).  

As the world's two largest gas silicon carbide powder are also expected to change significantly.

What is Silicon Carbide SiC?
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a hard compound containing silicon and carbon. A semiconductor, it is found in nature in the form of the extremely rare mineral moxanite. 
It has been mass-produced in powder and crystal form since 1893 for use as an abrasive.  Silicon carbide particles can be sintered together to form very hard ceramics that are widely used in applications requiring high durability, such as ceramic plates in car brakes, car clutches, and bulletproof vests. Large silicon carbide single crystals can be grown by the Lely method, and they can be cut into gemstones called synthetic mossanes. 
 
What can Silicon Carbide Devices Bring to New Energy Vehicles?
Silicon carbide power devices have been used in critical power systems inside electric vehicles, including traction inverters, on-board chargers (OBC), and DC-DC converters.  Key advantages over traditional silicon devices include higher voltage and higher frequency features, resulting in higher system efficiency, faster switching, lower losses, and better thermal management. Compared with silicon-based devices, silicon carbide devices have the following advantages:
 
Lift acceleration 
The use of silicon carbide devices can make the driving motor bear more input power at low speed, and because of its high thermal performance, not afraid of the thermal effect and power loss caused by excessive current. When the vehicle starts, the driving motor can output more torque and obtain stronger acceleration ability. 
 
Increase mileage 
SiC devices can reduce the loss through two dimensions of conduction/switching, so as to achieve the purpose of increasing the range of electric vehicles. The results show that the turn-off loss of sic-MOS is about 20% of that of Si-IGBT at 25°C junction temperature. At 175°C junction temperature, the turn-off loss of sic-MOS is only 10% of that of SI-IGBT.  In general, the use of SiC devices in new energy vehicles can increase the driving range by 5-10%, and the average driving range is more than 600 kilometers. 
 
High rated voltage 
Silicon carbide MOSFET has a higher voltage rating, making the technology suitable for EV applications and EV quick charging infrastructure. More importantly, the SiC can be replaced directly without major changes, enabling rapid development while keeping the BOM low. 
 
Lightweight 
To achieve lightweight thanks to the superior performance of SiC, SiC devices can achieve the effect of reducing the volume in the following aspects: 
1, the package size is smaller, and the average weight is reduced by 150 to 200 kg; 
2, reduce the use of filters and passive devices such as transformers, capacitors, inductors, etc.; 
3, reduce the radiator volume. 
 
Economical
At present, the price of SiC devices is 4-6 times that of silicon based devices, but the use of SiC devices to achieve a substantial reduction in battery cost and the improvement of the range, reducing the overall cost of the vehicle.
 
Silicon Carbide Price
The price is influenced by many factors including the supply and demand in the market, industry trends, economic activity, market sentiment, and unexpected events.
If you are looking for the latest SiC price, you can send us your inquiry for a quote. ([email protected])
 
Silicon Carbide Supplier
Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd. (TRUNNANO) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12-year-experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and nanomaterials including silicon powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, zinc sulfide, calcium nitride, 3D printing powder, etc.
If you are looking for high-quality SiC, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. ([email protected])
 

The latest poll by CSA for consumer finance company Cofidis shows the French are taking action to trim their budgets as inflation erodes household purchasing power.  

According to Le Figaro, the poll shows that French people think they need to earn an average of 490 euros more a month in order to live a decent life. This is an increase of 23 euros compared to the purchasing power barometer published in September 2021. Amid inflation and international tensions, this average in the polls masks differences among households, with some social groups much more severely affected by the decline in purchasing power than others. Seventy-eight percent of single-parent households, 76 percent of 25-to 34-year-olds, and 72 percent of blue-collar workers said the international situation had had a negative impact on their personal finances, compared with 64 percent of all French people.  

In response to rising prices, soaring energy, and food prices, in particular, the French government is preparing to launch a package of measures designed to increase the purchasing power, such as extending the energy price protection mechanism, the extension of the fuel discount measures, and more targeted alternative measures, will be distributed inflation-linked pension and social security benefits, check the "food" and so on.

Because of the soaring energy prices, the silicon carbide powder price is predicted to rise in the future.

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