On May 21, 2024, at the "Advanced Rail Transit Industry Special Session" briefing held at the Shanghai Stock Exchange Roadshow Center, Li Donglin, Chairman of CRRC Zhuzhou, revealed that the company is accelerating the construction of an 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) production line. Among them, the Zhuzhou Phase III 8-inch SiC wafer project has started construction in November 2024, with plans to achieve the topping out of the main factory building in May 2025 and complete the entire line by the end of 2025.

At present, Zhuzhou CRRC also has a mature 6-inch SiC chip production line with an annual production capacity of 25000 pieces. In terms of product technology, the company has completed the standardized development of the third-generation fine planar gate SiC MOSFET, and the fourth generation trench gate product has also reached the industry's advanced level, and has started to layout the fifth generation technology.

Zhuzhou CRRC's current key products include:

650V-6500V voltage level SiC MOSFET, suitable for high-frequency and high power density scenarios;

1200V SBD products have been shipped in bulk in photovoltaic applications;

SiC TO packaged devices have been installed at charging stations OBC、 Realize large-scale supply in fields such as power management;

The latest product, C-Power 220s platform, is aimed at the main drive controller of new energy vehicles and has entered the validation stage of the vehicle factory. It is expected to achieve mass shipment of main drive by 2025.

This marks that Zhuzhou CRRC is building a complete SiC industry ecosystem from substrates, chips to application platforms, accelerating its penetration into the high-voltage and high-efficiency power electronics market.

According to The Edge Singapore on May 20th, the Singapore government is also actively laying out 8-inch SiC platforms. The Microelectronics Institute (IME) under the Singapore Agency for Science and Technology Research (A * STAR) will build an 8-inch SiC R&D and production line that is open to the world, serving end markets such as electric vehicles, power electronics, RF devices, and 5G communication.

The platform has been defined by the Singapore government as the world's first industrial grade 8-inch SiC open research and development line, providing not only process validation but also accelerating technological iteration during the trial production phase, serving local startups and small and medium-sized chip manufacturers. Among them, WaferLead, a local Singaporean company, has become one of the first beneficiaries.

A * STAR emphasizes that through a centralized and integrated R&D and trial production platform, the efficiency of technology transformation can be significantly improved, avoiding the resource dispersion and process complexity caused by cross institutional and cross laboratory collaboration in the past.

Trend observation: Global SiC technology iteration shifts towards 8-inch, industry chain collaboration is brewing changes

With the surge in demand for high-voltage and high-efficiency power devices in electric vehicles, energy storage, and new energy grids, the global silicon carbide industry is accelerating its transformation and upgrading towards 8-inch wafers. Compared to 6-inch wafers, 8-inch SiC wafers can significantly improve unit yield, reduce manufacturing costs, and enhance packaging compatibility.

The 8-inch project, which is being promoted almost simultaneously by CRRC Zhuzhou in China and A * STAR in Singapore, reflects the dual track trend of mass production in manufacturing and platform openness in research and development. It is expected that by 2026, the 8-inch SiC production line will become the mainstream process platform in the industry, and give rise to more diversified new categories of power devices for automotive grade, photovoltaic grade, and industrial grade.