Renesas Electronics Corp. and Wolfspeed Inc. have signed a wafer supply agreement and $2 billion deposit by Renesas to secure a 10-year supply commitment of silicon carbide (SiC) bare and epitaxial wafers from Wolfspeed. The supply of high-quality SiC wafers from Wolfspeed will pave the way for Renesas to scale production of SiC power semiconductors starting in 2025.

The signing ceremony of the agreement was held at Renesas’ headquarters in Tokyo between Hidetoshi Shibata, President and CEO of Renesas, and Gregg Lowe, President and CEO of Wolfspeed.

The decade-long supply agreement calls for Wolfspeed to provide Renesas with 150mm SiC bare and epitaxial wafers scaling in CY2025, reinforcing the companies’ vision for an industry-wide transition from silicon to SiC semiconductor power devices. The agreement also anticipates supplying Renesas with 200mm SiC bare and epitaxial wafers after the recently announced John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide (the “JP”) is fully operational.

The need for more efficient power semiconductors, which supply and manage electricity, is dramatically increasing throughout automotive and industrial applications, spurred by the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy. Renesas is moving quickly to address the growing demand for power semiconductors by expanding its in-house manufacturing capacity. The company recently announced the restart of its Kofu Factory to produce IGBTs, and establishment of a SiC production line at its Takasaki Factory.

Renesas President and CEO Hidetoshi Shibata and Wolfspeed President and CEO Gregg Lowe.

Compared to conventional silicon power semiconductors, SiC devices enable higher energy efficiency, greater power density and a lower system cost. In an increasingly energy-conscious world, the adoption of SiC is becoming ever more pervasive across multiple high-volume applications spanning EVs, renewable energy and storage, charging infrastructure, industrial power supplies, traction and variable speed drives.

“The wafer supply agreement with Wolfspeed will provide Renesas with a stable, long-term supply base of high-quality SiC wafers. This empowers Renesas to scale our power semiconductor offerings to better serve customers’ vast array of applications,” said Shibata. “We are now poised to elevate ourselves as a key player in the accelerating silicon carbide market.”

“With the steepening demand for SiC across the automotive, industrial and energy sectors, it’s critically important we have best-in-class power semiconductor customers like Renesas to help lead the global transition from silicon to SiC,” said Lowe. “For more than 35 years, Wolfspeed has focused on producing SiC wafers and high-quality power devices, and this relationship marks an important step in our mission to save the world energy.”

Renesas’ $2 billion deposit will help support Wolfspeed’s ongoing capacity construction projects including the JP, the world’s largest SiC materials factory in Chatham County, North Carolina. The state-of-the-art, multi-billion-dollar facility is targeted to generate a more than 10-fold increase from Wolfspeed’s current SiC production capacity on its Durham, North Carolina campus. The facility will produce primarily 200mm SiC wafers, which are 1.7x larger than 150mm wafers, translating into more chips per wafer and ultimately, lower device costs.

By: DocMemory
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