[Featured Stock] KEC, In-Demand SiC Power Semiconductors... Global Famous Electric Vehicle Company Qualitest

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] KEC is showing strong performance. The rapid growth of the electric vehicle and data center markets appears to have influenced the stock price due to expected benefits.

At 11:11 AM on the 18th, KEC was trading at 2,935 KRW, up 10.34% from the previous trading day.

KEC is a company engaged in the manufacturing of semiconductor products and components. It produces power semiconductors among system semiconductors. Recently, demand has increased as front-end industries such as electric vehicles, ESS, and data center servers have expanded.

Major customers include LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Mobis, US mobile companies, and Panasonic, to whom KEC reliably supplies power semiconductors for automotive and home appliance applications. As the number of power semiconductors installed in electric vehicles increases, KEC is developing various products targeting the automotive electronics market.

Lee Donghyun, Senior Researcher at ResearchAlum, analyzed, "Demand for power semiconductors is increasing," adding, "Interest in SiC power semiconductors, which complement the shortcomings of conventional silicon power semiconductors, is especially heating up."

He continued, "Recently, Hyundai Motor also announced plans to produce SiC power semiconductors in-house, demonstrating the importance of SiC power semiconductors," and added, "KEC has succeeded in developing trench-structured SiC power semiconductors, a feat only two global companies have achieved in mass production."

He emphasized, "Mass production is planned to start next year," and "KEC's performance in the electric vehicle market is highly anticipated."

The conventional power semiconductor material, Si (silicon), has the drawback of being vulnerable to high temperatures and high pressure, losing its semiconductor properties above 150 degrees Celsius. It is not suitable for use in high-voltage devices such as electric vehicles or servers. The alternative is SiC (silicon carbide) power semiconductors, which have strength and thermal conductivity 10 times and 3 times higher than silicon, respectively, allowing them to withstand high voltage and heat, making them a promising next-generation power semiconductor material.

The researcher stated, "In 2018, Tesla was the first to install an inverter using SiC power semiconductors in the Model 3, and currently, 30% of global electric vehicles adopt SiC power semiconductors," emphasizing, "The adoption rate is expected to exceed 60% by 2025."

Although demand is surging, the technological barriers are high. For trench-structured SiC power semiconductors, only Germany's Cree and Japan's Rohm have mass production capabilities. There is a global supply shortage. Domestically, 100% of these are imported, making localization urgent.

The researcher explained, "In the past, when developing 1200V SiC MOSFETs for electric vehicles as the lead institution of a national project, Hyundai Autron participated," and added, "Currently, Hyundai Mobis has acquired Hyundai Autron's semiconductor business division."

He continued, "They play a key role in Hyundai Motor Group's semiconductor internalization," and introduced, "Recently, Hyundai Motor announced plans to develop SiC power semiconductors independently this year and start direct production next year to install them in new vehicles."

He noted, "It is known that they are cooperating with multiple companies, including MagnaChip," and assessed, "Given that Hyundai Autron participated when KEC conducted national projects in the past, the possibility of cooperation with KEC cannot be ruled out." Furthermore, he emphasized, "Considering that the quality test period for new vehicle installation exceeds one year, cooperation with companies that already possess the technology is necessary."

The researcher analyzed, "It is presumed that quality tests with globally renowned electric vehicle companies are underway," and "KEC has been evaluated by the Korea Institute for Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning at a level equivalent to overseas advanced companies, indicating sufficient competitiveness."

He predicted that if KEC passes quality tests from electric vehicle companies in the future, sales related to SiC power semiconductors will rapidly increase. The SiC MOSFET developed by KEC can be used not only in vehicle inverters but also in solar inverters, PCs, industrial UPS, and ESS for eco-friendly energy. According to Yole Development, the global SiC power semiconductor market, which was worth 1 trillion KRW in 2020, is expected to grow to 12.28 trillion KRW by 2030.