$2 billion deposit! Renesas Electronics and Wolfspeed reach a 10-year wafer supply agreement

According to the supply agreement, Wolfspeed will supply 150 mm silicon carbide bare wafers and epitaxial wafers produced on a large scale to Renesas Electronics from 2025. Wolfspeed will supply 200mm bare silicon carbide wafers and epitaxial wafers to Renesas Electronics after the John Palmour silicon carbide manufacturing center in North Carolina, the United States, is fully operational.

Compared with traditional silicon power semiconductors, silicon carbide devices have higher energy efficiency, higher power density, and lower system costs. In a world of increasing energy awareness, the adoption of silicon carbide in various large-scale applications such as electric vehicles, renewable energy and storage, charging infrastructure, industrial power, traction, and variable speed drives has become increasingly common.

Stimulated by the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy, the demand for more efficient power semiconductors (used for supplying and managing electricity) in the entire automotive and industrial applications has sharply increased. Renesas Electronics is rapidly taking action to meet the growing demand for power semiconductors by expanding its internal manufacturing capacity. The company recently announced the resumption of IGBT production at the Kafu factory and the establishment of a silicon carbide production line at the Takasaki factory.

Hidetoshi Shibata, president and CEO of Renesas Electronics, said: "The wafer supply agreement with Wolfspeed will provide Renesas Electronics with a stable and long-term high-quality silicon carbide wafer supply base. This enables Renesas Electronics to expand our power semiconductor products to better serve the broad application of customers. We are now ready to improve ourselves and become a key player in the accelerating development of the silicon carbide market."

This $2 billion investment will support Wolfspeed's capacity expansion in North Carolina, with the goal of producing more than 10 times the current capacity of silicon carbide. It is reported that the factory mainly produces 200mm silicon carbide wafers, which are more difficult to manufacture compared to 150mm, but can effectively reduce chip costs.