By Li Panpan

(JW Insights) Jun 27 --The IGBT localization rate in China increased to about 30%-35% in 2022, with still a high dependence on the international market, according to JW Insights in its recently released “2022 China IGBT Market Research Report.” In 2021 and before, 80% to 90% of IGBT products in China relied on imports.

IGBT (Insulated-gate Bipolar Transistor) has become one of the fastest growing and most profitable fields in power semiconductors, combining BJT and MOSFET in device structure and with the high switching speed and breakdown voltage.

The global IGBT market reached about $7.6 billion in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 19%. It is expected to grow 13% in 2023, reaching $8.62 billion, said the JW Insights report.

As the consumption of new energy vehicles represented by the Chinese market continues to grow at high speed, the market share of IGBTs for vehicles reached 39.7% in 2022. It surpassed industrial control and became the largest market for downstream applications of IGBTs. By 2025, the share is expected to increase to nearly 50%.

Meanwhile, the market demand for wind-solar storage will also be robust in 2023. The growth rate for wind-solar-storage IGBTs is expected to exceed that of automobiles in the next few years, and the market share will increase year by year, reaching 9.6% in 2025, said the JW Insights report.

China's IGBT market shows a structural and rapid growth trend. It reached RMB32.19 billion ($4.46 billion) in 2022 and is expected to be around RMB46.81 billion ($6.49 billion) in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.3%. Among them, IGBTs in NEVs and wind-solar-storage have shown a strong growth trend, while rail transit and home appliance IGBT markets have declined.

International manufacturers such as Infineon, Fuji Electric, and Mitsubishi have apparent advantages in the IGBT market. Chinese manufacturers are concentrated in the medium and low voltage fields. There is a gap between the Chinese and international suppliers at the IGBT manufacturing process level and the heat dissipation efficiency of module packaging.

The rapid development of NEVs, wind-solar storage, and other emerging industries in China drives the growth of automotive-grade IGBT manufacturers in the country. The market share of China’s automotive IGBT manufacturers increased from 32% in 2021 to about 45-50% in 2022. BYD Semiconductor, STAR Semiconductor, and Times Electric are the top three suppliers.

In future development, NEVs will remain the most prominent application market for IGBTs. SiC products are expected to co-exist with silicon-based IGBTs in the next few years, upgrading the growing automotive industry.