How Silicon Wafers are Driving Efficiency and Market Value of Solar Industry to Greater Heights?

The world is edging towards solar energy and other renewable energy generation sources to meet the increasing energy demands of the future and ensure environmental security. This solar energy generation has found its impact on business and government scale, but there is massive adoption happening at the domestic level. Silicon wafers form the critical part of solar photovoltaic cells. Apart from this, they are also critical components of power electronics components used in solar energy generation. The immense renewable demand for solar energy is skyrocketing the silicon wafer market. In this blog, we will analyze how demand for solar energy is increasing immense demand for the silicon wafer market and how silicon wafers are improving the efficiency of solar energy production.

The increasing demand for the solar energy industry requirement for silicon wafers is soaring high. Corresponding to contemporary research by the Global Market Insights reveals that “Solar Silicon Wafer Market size surpassed USD 9.5 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to grow more than USD 20 billion CAGR of 11% from 2021 to 2027 .” The silicon wafer marketplace is expected to evidence substantial growth in the future with the upsurge in the number of federal policies to curtail environmental hazards. This resulted in the steady rise in renewable energy solutions, specifically solar, to accomplish energy demands, right from household usage to an industrial level. To achieve maximum energy conversion efficacy solar industry is deploying monocrystalline silicon solar cells.

Photovoltaic energy principally demands high power, lesser energy losses, rapid switching, and reliable performance to improve the throughput and power density. Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices are the most reliable ones offering an expected efficiency resolution to photovoltaic energy needs and serving the soaring energy requirement. A special mention should go to Silicon Carbide.

Silicon Carbide has a higher bandgap, thermal conductivity, and electric field strength. Also known as wide bandgap semiconductors, these can endure up to 300°Celsius, whereas the rest of the Silicon devices can resist up to 150°C. Silicon Carbide has greater adaptability in power semiconductor devices because it is resilient to higher voltages and transfers heat away from the system; Silicon Carbide can boost photovoltaic devices’ efficiency.

Moreover, solar installations are not deployed in controlled environments and are exposed incessantly to uncertain and challenging weather circumstances. So, solar panels deployed should be resilient to all weather conditions and ensure energy generation is consistent irrespective of the climatical circumstances. The inherent mechanical strength of Silicon Carbide guarantees resilience and efficiency in various climate conditions, ensuring the reliability and efficiency of solar installation.

It is estimated that silicon carbide-based devices can deliver results with 75% reduced switching losses and 70% more power density than silicon devices. The silicon carbide devices deliver 98% efficiency with reduced inverter size and other related devices, thereby improving its adaptability and extending the scope of its applications in broader horizons like electric vehicles and other industries. For this reason, the worldwide silicon carbide market is anticipated to increase with a CAGR of 15.7% from 2019 to 2025.

Apart from solar panels, silicon wafers usage in inverters hold a considerable market proportion; the solar silicon wafer market is approximated evidence of a growth rise from 3.5% – 8.5% during 2020- 2027. The increasing utilization of solar power in the domestic & industrial sector worldwide will lead to the necessity for inverters in the solar industry. The sizeable solar silicon wafer of around 210 mm size, promotes accomplish high power throughput of closer to 600 W. Tesla has launched two solar invertors of 3.8 kW and 7.6 kW capacity with an energy conversion efficiency of close to 97.5%. This is expected to play a major role and greatly affect domestic solar needs, with an energy conversion efficiency of around 97.5%.