Layout of silicon carbide chips, ideal automotive power semiconductor R&D and production base settled in Suzhou

Recently, Suzhou High-tech Zone held a signing ceremony for major projects, involving a total of 52 projects in three categories: key integrated circuit projects, major foreign-funded projects, and headquarters projects, with a total investment of about 33.7 billion yuan.Gasgoo noted that the key integrated circuit projects signed this time include the R&D and production base project of ideal automotive power semiconductors.

The contract for the R&D and production base of ideal automotive power semiconductors was signed; Image source: Su Gaoxin Technology

According to the Suzhou High-tech Zone Science and Technology Investment Promotion Center, the R&D and production base of Lili Auto’s power semiconductors is one of the strategic industrial layouts of Lili Auto’s self-developed core components. hereinafter referred to as "Sanan Optoelectronics") jointly funded the establishment of Suzhou Sko Semiconductor Co., Ltd., mainly focusing on the research and development and production of the third-generation semiconductor silicon carbide automotive chip modules.

According to the plan, the project will start the construction of the plant in Suzhou High-tech Zone in mid-June this year. After the completion of the year, the equipment will be installed and adjusted. It is expected to start sample trial production in May 2023, and will gradually form an annual output of 2.4 million half-bridge products after it is officially put into production in 2024.productioncapacity .

Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of Lixiang Automobile, said that the implementation of this project is an important layout of Lixiang Automobile for the new field of third-generation semiconductor silicon carbide. It will form a supply chain team and major electric drive partners in Suzhou High-tech Zone. new industrial layout.

Focusing on the present, with the rapid development ofnew energy vehicles, the silicon (Si)-based materials used in the past have basically approached their physical limits, such as operating temperature, voltage blocking capability, forward voltage drop, device switching speed, etc., especially In the field of high frequency and high power, it shows its limitations.For this, new materials are needed to replace.

As a typical representative of the third-generation semiconductor materials, silicon carbide (SiC) materials are considered to be the main development direction of the power semiconductor industry. They are used to make power devices and can significantly improve the utilization rate of electric energy.In the foreseeable future,new energyvehicles will be the main application scenario of silicon carbide power devices. Silicon carbide power devices can make new energy vehicles more efficient, lighter in weight and more compact in structure, helping to save costs and cruising range. improvement.

It is understood that Tesla has taken the lead in integrating full silicon carbide modules in Model 3, and then foreign car companies such as Toyota, Honda, Ford, Volkswagen, etc., and domestic companies such as BYD and Weilai have successively announced that they will adopt silicon carbide solutions.With the decreasing manufacturing cost of silicon carbide devices and the gradual maturity of process technology, the future of the silicon carbide power device industry is promising, especially in the rapidly growing Chinese new energy vehicle market.

With this move, Ideal Auto also intends to make an advance layout in the silicon carbide industry to expand its follow-up competitive advantage.

In fact, as early as the end of January this year, the announcement of the simple case of concentration of business operators from the Anti-Monopoly Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation showed that Beijing Chehejia Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. Hunan Sanan Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sanan Semiconductor") will establish a joint venture.

Gasgoo learned through the inquiry of the company that the joint venture company Suzhou Sko Semiconductor Co., Ltd. established by the above two parties was established on March 23 this year with a registered capital of 300 million yuan. Its business scope includes: manufacturing of power electronic components, electric power Electronic component sales, semiconductor discrete device manufacturing, semiconductor discrete device sales, electronic component manufacturing.

Equity penetration shows that the company is jointly held by Che Hejia and Sanan Semiconductor.The transaction profile disclosed in the previous announcement shows that Che Hejia holds a 70% stake in the joint venture, and Sanan Semiconductor holds a 30% stake.However, both parties to the transaction enjoy joint control over the joint venture.

It is reported that Sanan Semiconductor is a 100% subsidiary of Sanan Optoelectronics, which has been listed on the domestic main board and is the industry leader in domestic LED chips.In recent years, with the development of new energy vehicles, Sanan Optoelectronics has invested heavily in the field of silicon carbide.

Statistics show that in June last year, the first phase project of Hunan Sanan Semiconductor Base with a total investment of 16 billion yuan was officially put into production.In addition, at the beginning of this year, the silicon carbide diodes manufactured by Sanan Semiconductor were selected as the first batch of "Recommended Catalogue for the Promotion and Application of Automotive Chips", marking the official "on-board" of Sanan Semiconductor's automotive-grade power devices.

From this point of view, it is a reasonable choice for Li Auto to expand its layout in the silicon carbide industry through cooperation with Sanan Semiconductor.However, the intention of Li Auto's move may be more than that.

It is well known in the industry that the shortage of automotive chips has been going on for a long time, and Li Auto was also plagued by the shortage of chips.Last year, due to the disruption of the parts supply chain caused by the epidemic, the supply of Lili Auto’s millimeter-wave radar chips suffered from a shortage crisis, and new cars had to be delivered through reduced allocations.Based on this, Ideal Auto naturally hopes to achieve self-development and self-production of chips.

Recently, Ideal Motors established a new company - Sichuan Ideal Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.The company's business scope includes integrated circuit chip design and service, road motor vehicle production, auto parts and accessories manufacturing, sales of electrical accessories for new energy vehicles, and sales of complete new energy vehicles.Prior to that, Li Auto had established a number of companies in the business of software development, technology development and parts production in the past two years.These moves also foreshadowed this to some extent.

As mentioned earlier, chip materials may shift from silicon to silicon carbide in the future. In view of the increase in related demand, Ideal Auto must hope to have more initiative in the supply of chips by cooperating with Sanan Semiconductor.