Last month, electronica 2022 did not disappoint! After four long years of waiting to meet in person, nearly 70,000 attendees from 100 countries and regions attended the event in Munich.
| After meeting with major players, customers, distributors, potential customers, and OEMs at the show, we noticed some market trends and opportunities, especially in two important industries — Automotive and Industrial. |
Accounting for just 8% of semiconductor demand in 2021, the automotive industry could represent 13 to 15% of demand by 2030.
Modern vehicles can contain 8,000 active semiconductors and 100 interconnected control units. With the EU’s commitment to ban the production of gas-engine cars and vans by 2035, the number of semiconductors and control units per vehicle is bound to climb, along with even greater demand. Plus, increased autonomous driving features and e-mobility are also key drivers.
Many of these challenges were discussed at electronica’s CEO Roundtable, where leaders of NXP Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, Infineon, and Wolfspeed discussed the many issues and opportunities surrounding the semiconductor industry today — from supply chain problems to labor shortages.
These CEOs confirmed what we see in the market — the increased popularity of EVs is driving demand for high-power products, MOSFETs, and SiCs. It’s to the point where some of these semiconductor manufacturers confessed they can’t even keep up with demand. However, our lead times are better than the industry average, so MCC can help you source the right MOSFETs, SiCs, or other components for use in EVs.
Automotive is the most crucial segment in Europe, with many Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers scattered around.
These customers still suffer from severe shortages over the last 1.5 - 2 years, with massive price increases adding insult to injury. In addition to increased prices, they often find unwanted surprises such as delivery delays, especially for analog parts and MOSFETs. These automotive customers are painfully aware that relying on one top-tier supplier without a backup will no longer cut it.
Finding an alternative supplier for the auto industry is a long process due to the stringent automotive qualification process. The sum of these challenges led to a drastic decrease in production. Going forward, most automotive customers will implement a strategy to qualify at least one dual source on every new project.
According to Quince Market Insights, the global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 21.3% from 2020 to 2028, with advancements in manufacturing as one of the key factors.
Our conversations with experts in the field revealed the Industrial market is a major one in Germany and Europe, with enhanced demand for:
Manufacturing Equipment |
Power Supplies |
Solar Inverters |
While some are moving from IGBT technology to SiC MOSFETs for greater performance, many designers and manufacturers are balancing costs and sticking with IGBTs for the foreseeable future (until SiC MOSFETs come down in price).
Like customers in Automotive, many are struggling with product availability from their existing suppliers. Therefore, longer lead times are forcing companies to qualify a secondary source for new projects.
Fortunately for MCC and our customers, we have IGBT components in 650V and 1200V, with currents ranging from 15A to 75A and lead times of an average of 16-20 weeks compared to approximately 39-52 weeks for other IGBT manufacturers.
We’ve seen a lot of interest in our IGBT modules and power diode modules as long-term solutions for customers feeling the crunch of longer lead times.
Did you swing by our booth at electronica? The MCC booth featured the three new products we rolled out in 2022:
Our low VF bridge rectifier delivers high reliability, plus:
Our new IGBTs leverage Trench-Field Stop technology to deliver superior current conduction capability and more:
These NPIs we showcased at electronica are a perfect fit to meet market demands in Automotive, Industrial, and beyond. Stay tuned next year for several new products designed to make your products better and more competitive.
Our team also got to walk the halls of electronica to see what other innovators in electronics had to share.
From robotics to electric vehicles, here’s a fun look at some of the cool technologies we spotted at electronica:
We’re already looking forward to returning to electronica November 12-15, 2024, and hope to see you there!
Until then, be sure to subscribe to our blog to stay in the know on what’s trending in semiconductors.
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