Renesas Electronics & Wolfspeed: 10-Year Wafer Supply
Renesas Electronics Corporation and Wolfspeed, Inc have recently announced a significant partnership in the electronic components industry. Renesas has made a $2 billion deposit to secure a 10-year commitment for the supply of high-quality silicon carbide wafers from Wolfspeed. This agreement will enable Renesas to expand its production of silicon carbide power semiconductors, meeting the increasing demand for more efficient power devices in sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy.
The signing ceremony took place at Renesas' headquarters in Tokyo, with the presence of Renesas President and CEO Hidetoshi Shibata and Wolfspeed President and CEO Gregg Lowe. The agreement specifies that Wolfspeed will provide Renesas with 150mm silicon carbide wafers in 2025, aligning with both companies' vision for transitioning from silicon to silicon carbide power devices. Additionally, following the recent announcement of the John Palmour Silicon Carbide Manufacturing Center (JP), Renesas expects to receive 200mm silicon carbide wafers from Wolfspeed.
The demand for more efficient power semiconductors is driven by the growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy. Renesas is proactively responding to this demand by expanding its in-house manufacturing capabilities. The company has restarted IGBT production at its Yamanashi factory and established a silicon carbide production line at its Takasaki factory.
Silicon carbide devices offer advantages over traditional silicon power semiconductors, including higher energy efficiency, greater power density, and lower system costs. As the world focuses more on energy considerations, the adoption of silicon carbide is becoming increasingly common across various high-capacity applications, such as electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, charging infrastructure, industrial power supplies, traction, and variable-speed drives.
Renesas' President and CEO Hidetoshi Shibata expressed the significance of the partnership, stating, "The wafer supply agreement with Wolfspeed ensures a stable and high-quality silicon carbide wafer supply for Renesas, allowing us to expand our power semiconductor products and better serve a wide range of customer applications. This positions Renesas as a key player in the rapidly growing silicon carbide market."
Wolfspeed's President and CEO, Gregg Lowe, emphasized the importance of collaborations with leading power semiconductor customers like Renesas in driving the global transition from silicon to silicon carbide. With over 35 years of expertise in producing silicon carbide wafers and high-quality power devices, Wolfspeed's mission to save energy is further reinforced by this partnership.
Renesas' $2 billion deposit will support Wolfspeed's capacity expansion projects, including the John Palmour Silicon Carbide Manufacturing Center (JP) in Chatham County, North Carolina. The state-of-the-art facility, worth billions of dollars, will increase Wolfspeed's silicon carbide production capacity in its Durham campus by over 10 times. By primarily producing 200mm silicon carbide wafers, which offer increased chip yield, the facility aims to reduce equipment costs and contribute to the widespread adoption of silicon carbide technology.
