CM’s second Innovation China Conference this year, themed ‘Momentum’ was held at its portfolio company Global Power Technology (GPT) on 14 November 2023. CM invested in Global Power Technologies (GPT) in its series A round in 2017, and is now the 2nd largest shareholder in the company. GPT’s plant at Hunan produces 100K SiC wafers/year.
Key speakers at the forum included Ruan Jun, Deputy Secretary-General of China Solid State Lighting Alliance, Dr Wang Lizheng, Snr Engineer of 48th Research Institute of CETC and Dr Chen Tong, GPT General Manager.
The forum opened with the Deputy Secretary-General of China Solid State Lighting Alliance sharing an overview of China’s 3rd-gen semiconductor industry. CM’s Limited Partner Heraeus presented related products for the power electronics value chain, while CM portfolio company Nanotop shared new breakthrough products for power electronics packaging needs.
The overall takeaway from the forum is that China’s SiC semiconductor is expected to experience rapid growth, driven by rising EV sales and China’s high penetration of the EV market.
To further accelerate industry growth, two key insights were gained from the forum:
Power highlight:
• In 2022, the domestic market for SiC and GaN power electronic devices was about 10.55 billion yuan, a 48.4% increase year-over-year, with a penetration rate of 6-8%. By 2026, the market is expected to reach 36.6 billion yuan.
RF highlight:
• The GaN microwave RF device market in 2022 was 8.86 billion yuan, up 20.9% year-over-year.
Optoelectronics highlight:
• The LED industry’s output declined by 13.2% in 2022 but is expected to recover slowly in 2023.
SiC Industry Development highlights:
• China’s SiC industry needs low-cost, high-quality solutions and ample production capacity.
• As of October 2023, only a few companies had shipped over 100,000 pieces (6-inch) of SiC substrates.
• By 2024, industrial-grade SiC substrate prices might drop significantly.
AMB Cooling Substrate highlights:
• AlN and SiN ceramic substrates each have pros and cons.
• Soldering material costs in AMB account for 30% of material costs.
• SiC and GaN sintering methods differ: pressure sintering for SiC, non-pressure sintering for GaN.
• GPT | 泰科天润 (host)
• China Solid State Lighting Alliance | 国家半导体照明工程研发及产业联盟
• Heraeus | 贺利氏
• Nanotop | 中科纳通
• 48th Research Institute of CETC | 中电四十八所
• Beijing TankeBlue Semiconductor | 北京天科合达半导体
Momentum event wrap-up video
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