SHANGHAI, Jan. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market, USI (SSE: 60131) has begun to lay out the assembly and testing of power modules for major international power semiconductor suppliers in recent years. Recently, USI won the favor of several European, American, and Japanese clients. As a result, USI expects to officially mass-produce IGBT and SiC power modules for electric vehicle inverters in 2022.
According to Canalys, a research organization, 2.6 million electric vehicles were sold in the first half of 2021. Compared with the same period last year, sales have grown by 160%, far higher than the 26% growth rate of the global automobile market. The growth of the electric vehicle market has driven the demand for crucial power semiconductor components and modules. In particular, third-generation semiconductors boast high efficiency, low energy consumption, high frequency, high power, high voltage, and high-temperature resistance, all of these features can improve the fast-charging efficiency of electric vehicles. The development of electric vehicles and their components and modules complement each other, further accelerating the rise of third-generation semiconductor SiC and GaN chips and modules.
The five major systems of electric vehicles include the auto body, electricity, charging, battery, and motor power. Among these systems, power semiconductor components and modules are widely used for charging, battery management systems, and motor power. Electric vehicles need inverters to convert high-voltage DC power from the battery into AC power for the motor to drive. USI won a long-term contract for power modules from European clients in 2019. The modules are used for On-Board Chargers (OBC), the standard configuration for all electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. OBC converts AC power to DC power in order to charge the power battery, of which the power module plays a vital role in current rectification and voltage stabilization.
Aaron Chen, the AVP of Automotive Electronics BU of USI, said: "With a flexible and agile structure, USI will introduce product automation to continuously improve powertrain manufacturing and testing technology related to electric vehicles. The next 5 years will continue to grow, bringing tremendous growth to the automotive electronics business. Automobile OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers have high requirements for localized production. In response to growing transportation costs, USI has established 27 production locations worldwide across 4 continents, including Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa, having the ability to provide customers with the most suitable localized manufacturing service solutions, quickly respond to customer needs, and enhance the value for customers."
USI has more than 40 years of experience in automotive electronics fields. In addition to the successful efforts of the Powertrain System for vehicles, which has been recognized by European and American original equipment (OE) and Tier 1 suppliers, electric vehicle and new energy vehicle components have become important aspects of the company's roadmap for automotive electronic products. These components are also driving factors of USI's future growth.
About USI
USI (SSE: 601231, A constituent of CSI300 Index), Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., is a global leader in electronic design and manufacturing as well as a leader in the field of SiP (System-in-Package) modules. USI provides D(MS)2 product services: Design, Manufacturing, Miniaturization, Industrial software and hardware Solutions, and material procurement, logistics and maintenance Services. With Asteelflash, USI has 27 sales, production and service locations across four continents of Asia, Europe, Americas and Africa, and offers customer diversified products in the sectors of wireless communication, computer and storage, consumer, industrial, medical and automotive electronics worldwide. USI is a subsidiary of ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (TWSE: 3711, NYSE: ASX), the leading provider of semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly and test. To learn more, please visit www.usiglobal.com and engage with us on LinkedIn and YouTube.
