19 November 2014

Power electronics discrete component market to grow 77% to $23bn in 2024

The market for discrete power electronics components – used to convert and manage electricity in devices ranging from mobile phones to pumps and motors – will grow by 77% from $13bn today to $23bn in 2024, according to the report ‘Sizing-up the $23 Billion Discrete Power Electronics Market in 2024’ (part of market analyst firm Lux Research’s Energy Electronics Intelligence service).

Silicon-based devices will remain the main technology of choice with an 87% share in 2024, but silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies will be the fastest-growing (at 30% and 32% annually, respectively), gaining a combined share of 13%, forecasts Lux Research.

“As power demands in applications from consumer electronics to the power grid get more demanding, silicon is running up against physical limits, offering opportunities for both SiC and GaN,” says analyst Pallavi Madakasira, the lead author of the report.

“GaN is a direct threat to silicon, as it can replace silicon in many applications, while SiC transistors can actually create additional new opportunities for silicon in high-voltage applications that will use SiC and silicon components together,” she adds.

Lux Research evaluated the market for discrete power electronics, assessing market drivers and diverse technologies. The findings include the following:

• Tablet computers fuel growth. Consumer electronics and IT will account for 48% of the market in 2024 (about $11bn). Consumer electronics make up most of this segment, rising from $7bn in 2014 to $10bn in 2024, driven by growth in low-power tablet computers as well as the ongoing popularity of mobile phones.

• Transportation drives both SiC and GaN. Worth nearly $1.2bn in 2024, transportation applications will be the big driver for both SiC and GaN, account for 65% of the total market for SiC and 41% of the total market for GaN.

• SiC adoption limited by price; GaN by availability. Notwithstanding their high growth rates, SiC and GaN remain a small total share of the market. For SiC, high costs will make SiC transistors less viable in many applications, while GaN's adoption will be held back by delayed product roll-outs and capacity expansions, concludes Lux Research.

Tags: Power electronics GaN SiC

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