By Gabby Chen
(JW Insights) May 4 -- TanKeBlue Semiconductor (天科合达), a Chinese silicon carbide(SiC) provider, has signed a long-term contract with Germany's largest chipmaker Infineon Technologies to supply SiC wafers and boules, according to reports from Yicai Global and JW Insights on May 4.
TanKeBlue will provide 6-inch SiC wafers and boules to Infineon to manufacture SiC semiconductors in the initial phase, covering a double-digit share of expected long-term demand, Infineon said in a press release on May 3. TanKeBlue will also supply 8-inch SiC material to support Infineon's transition to 8-inch wafer diameter, it added.
The agreement will diversify Infineon's SiC supplier base, according to the company. It also contributes to general supply chain stability and growing demand for SiC chip products for auto, solar, and electric vehicle charging applications as well as energy storage systems in the Chinese market, it pointed out.
Founded in 2006, the Beijing-based TanKeBlue is a main player in the field of conductive substrates, with a market share of over 50% in China. Its shareholders include China's National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, Huawei-backed Hubble Technology Investment Fund, Chinese EV giant BYD and leading battery company CATL. It also has a strong background in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Chen Xiaolong, head of the SiC team at the Institute of Physics, CAS, and chief scientist of TanKeBlue, said that TanKeBlue is a typical case of successful industry-academia research collaboration with the Institute of Physics. Chen added that the company has been driving the progress of domestic SiC technology in China, which began relatively late compared to other countries.
Angelique Van Der Burg, chief procurement officer of Infineon, said, "Infineon is significantly expanding its manufacturing capacities at its production sites in Malaysia and Austria to meet the growing demand for SiC."
She added, "In order to offer the most comprehensive product range possible to our customers, Infineon is currently doubling down on its investments in SiC technology and product portfolio."
Infineon is implementing a multi-supplier and multi-country sourcing strategy to increase resilience to benefit its broad customer base, She noted.
To hit its target of a 30 percent global market share by the end of this decade, Infineon's SiC manufacturing capacity will increase 10-fold by 2027, the press release said.
