Silicon Carbide Is Changing the Rules in Power Electronics
This technology is considered a key lever for creating more efficient, more compact, and more powerful systems. Why this is the case and which specific advantages it offers are explained below.
The Future of Power Electronics
The global trend toward electrification is fundamentally changing the requirements for modern power electronics. High efficiency, compact designs, and low noise emissions are now decisive factors—especially in high-power industrial applications.
Silicon carbide-based power semiconductors (SiC) offer key advantages in precisely these areas. Due to their physical properties, they enable significantly higher switching frequencies, improved thermal performance, and greater power density than conventional IGBT technologies. The result is more efficient, more compact, and quieter power electronic systems—even in the multi-megawatt range.
At BeXema, we have been successfully developing and implementing SiC-based power solutions for demanding industrial applications for many years. These include grid-forming inverters, power supplies for electrolyzers, and high-power converters. Our practical project experience shows that SiC is not merely a technological alternative, but a key technology for the next generation of power electronics.
With this series of articles, we provide insights into the technological background, advantages, and application possibilities of SiC power semiconductors—and demonstrate how BeXema is already successfully putting this technology into practice today.
The Next Generation of Power Electronics
Silicon carbide (SiC) represents a fundamental technological leap in power electronics. Compared with conventional silicon, SiC enables significantly more powerful and efficient systems. Its physical properties provide the foundation for this: approximately three times higher thermal conductivity and a much wider bandgap allow operation at higher temperatures, voltages, and switching frequencies. This creates entirely new degrees of freedom in system design.
The characteristics of SiC translate directly into measurable system advantages:
- Higher efficiency through reduced switching and conduction losses
- Optimized thermal management even at high power densities
- More compact designs through smaller passive components
- Higher switching frequencies without disturbing noise emissions
By using SiC, power converters can operate faster, cooler, and far more efficiently. At the same time, the required installation space is reduced—an important advantage for modern industrial applications.
SiC opens up new potential particularly in areas with high power demands and dynamic load profiles:
- Grid-forming inverters
- Power supplies for electrolysis plants
- High-power industrial converters
BeXema is already using SiC technology today in systems operating in the multi-megawatt range. The result is solutions with high dynamic performance, maximum efficiency, and exceptionally low-noise operation—even under demanding industrial conditions.
SiC vs. IGBT: Who wins the race?
For decades, IGBTs have been the standard in high-power electronics. But when directly compared, Silicon Carbide (SiC) reveals a clear performance gap.
A look at key parameters shows why:
- Switching frequency: SiC (15–200 kHz) vs. IGBT (1–10 kHz)
- Switching energy: SiC (~90 mJ) vs. IGBT (~250 mJ)
- Thermal resistance: SiC (~6 K/kW) vs. IGBT (~14 K/kW)
These characteristics translate directly into tangible advantages in system design: SiC-based power electronics achieve higher efficiency due to lower switching losses, operate more thermally stable even at high power levels, and enable more compact converters with reduced cooling requirements. In addition, the higher switching frequencies significantly improve control performance and dynamic response.
In practice, this means that SiC-based power electronics operate faster, more efficiently, and with a smaller footprint than conventional IGBT-based solutions.
