SiC Power Semiconductor Company

SK Inc. has acquired a majority stake in Yes Power Technix.

SK Inc., the strategic investment holding company of South Korea’s SK Group, announced on April 27 that it has acquired a majority stake in Yes Power Technix, Korea’s sole SiC power semiconductor design and manufacturing company. Under the terms of the transaction, SK Inc. will invest a total of 120 billion won to acquire a 95.8 percent stake in Yes Power Technix.

In 2021, SK Inc. became the second-largest shareholder in Yes Power Technix after it acquired a 33.6 percent stake in the company for 26.8 billion won. Since its initial investment, SK Inc. has been working to bolster Yes Power Technix’s competitiveness in the SiC power semiconductor business through product development, process upgrades, and customer acquisition.

SK Inc. now plans to promote Yes Power Technix as a leading global SiC power semiconductor company by further strengthening its manufacturing and technological competitiveness, enhancing R&D capacity, and extending its portfolio in high value-value added products.

“We are excited to further expand our SiC business with speed and scale,” said Kim Yang-taek, executive vice president of SK Inc.’s Advanced Materials Investment Center. “The acquisition is a step forward in strengthening our investment in key technologies concerning electric vehicles. Through rapid production ramp-up, we expect the acquisition to support our ambitious plan to become a global leader in advanced materials.”

Power semiconductors are essential semiconductors in electric vehicles, electronic products, and 5G communication networks, as they can control the direction of electrical current and power conversion. The SiC power semiconductors are emerging as the next-generation power semiconductors, rapidly replacing silicon (Si) semiconductors. SiC semiconductors are able to withstand about 10 times the voltage and have high operating temperature compared to silicon (Si) power semiconductors. Furthermore, SiC power semiconductors have one tenth of the thickness of Si semiconductors. With the increasing demand for superfast EV charger, SiC power semiconductors are expected to emerge as the next-generation game changer with adoption rate forecasted to exceed 60 percent by 2025.

In particular, SiC power semiconductors are poised to become a key component of electric vehicles, as they can increase energy efficiency by 7 percent. In 2018, Telsa Inc. of the U.S. first introduced SiC power semiconductors in its Model 3. Since then, SiC power semiconductors are deployed in over 30 percent of all electric vehicles. Yole Development, a global market research company, estimates the global SiC power semiconductor market to reach US$4.9 billion in 2026 and continues to raise its market forecast due to the soaring demand from the growing number of electric vehicles.

Through the acquisition of Yes Power Technix, SK Inc., which also has a SiC wafer manufacturing subsidiary SK Siltron, will secure the key parts of SiC power semiconductor value chain that includes wafer fabrication, design, and manufacturing. Currently, the global SiC power semiconductor market is dominated by a small number of companies such as in Germany, the U.S. and Japan. With the worldwide shortage of SiC wafer supply, Yes Power Technix is expected to generate various synergy, with a steady supply of SiC wafer through SK Siltron. SK Inc. is also working towards securing U.S.-based SiC power semiconductor customers through a close collaboration with the U.S. body of SK Siltron.

SK Inc. is planning to establish a global mass-production system of SiC power semiconductors while also expanding its line to high value-added products such as Gallium nitride semiconductor (GaNon SiC) through partnerships with global companies. Seen as the new material for power semiconductors, GaN on SiC is used for 5G, satellite communication and radar equipment.

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