Feng Yin, assistant to the president of Gree Electric (000651.SZ) and general manager of Zhuhai Gree Electronic Components Co., Ltd., revealed at the Greater Bay Area Compound Semiconductor Ecological Application Conference that after the Gree Electric silicon carbide chip factory has mass-produced silicon carbide chips for home appliances, silicon carbide chips for photovoltaic energy storage and logistics vehicles will also be mass-produced this year.
This picture was provided by the interviewee
Dong Mingzhu, chairman of Gree Electric Appliances, said with a smile when receiving Chairman Feng Xingya of GAC Group a few days ago that half of GAC's automotive chips will be replaced by Gree products in the future.
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a compound semiconductor material with the advantage of being resistant to high voltage, high frequency and high temperature. In 2019, Gree began to introduce silicon carbide devices from American companies to air-conditioning cabinets to improve energy efficiency.
Feng Yin said that China's home appliance industry still has a lot of room for improvement in terms of energy efficiency. The latest APF energy efficiency ratio requirements for Chinese air conditioners have been raised, but there is still a gap compared with Japan's highest air conditioner energy efficiency ratio. If all Chinese refrigerators use the new energy efficiency level that will be implemented in June 2026, it will save about 13 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. In order to help save energy, Gree makes its own chips.
Gree Electric established an IPM power module production line in 2010, and Gree Zero Boundary Company was established in 2018 to do chip design. In 2023, Gree Electric established an electronic components company, mainly engaged in the design, tape-out, module packaging and testing of silicon carbide chips. Gree's silicon carbide chip factory will start piling work in December 2022, and the product line will be put online at the end of 2023. The first phase plans to have an annual production capacity of 240,000 6-inch silicon carbide wafers. In 2025, Gree Electric’s chip sales have exceeded 300 million.
Today, Gree's silicon carbide chips have been installed and shipped more than 2 million air conditioners, which can reduce temperatures and improve energy efficiency. Gree's silicon carbide devices used in photovoltaic and energy storage products can also help reduce temperature and improve energy efficiency, and will be mass-produced in 2026. In addition, Gree's silicon carbide devices used in central air-conditioning chillers and logistics vehicles can also achieve energy efficiency improvements and will be mass-produced in 2026.
According to Feng Yin, Gree's silicon carbide factory has built 6-inch and 8-inch compatible machines, has a fully automated overhead crane system, and can also provide testing services that meet vehicle regulations. At the same time, Gree's silicon carbide chip factory provides external foundry tape-out services.
After opening up the upstream chip industry chain, Feng Yin said that Gree Electronic Components Company is still facing pressure. First, there is low-price competition in the industry; second, during the chip promotion process, some customers still find the prices too high; third, some machine equipment accessories still rely on imports. Therefore, he hopes to strengthen external cooperation, assist more chip design companies in tape-out, and work with suppliers to break through industry bottlenecks.
"Silicon carbide and gallium nitride compound semiconductors have low energy consumption, high frequency resistance, and small size, making power adapters smaller and expanding their applications in various industries." Feng Yin said that in retail stores, LED large-screen power supplies, AR glasses, car charging piles and modules that can travel 200 kilometers in 5 minutes, as well as super energy stations, and low-altitude economy, etc., these applications need to be explored and developed.