STMicroelectronics, the world's leading semiconductor company serving multiple electronic applications, announced the signing of a long-term supply agreement for silicon carbide devices with ZF Technology Group Corporation. From 2025, ZF will source silicon carbide devices from stmicroelectronics. Under the terms of the long-term purchase contract, ST will supply ZF with more than 10 million SIC devices. Zf plans to integrate these components into a new modular inverter architecture for mass production in 2025, using ST's vertically integrated silicon carbide production lines in Europe and Asia to ensure fulfillment of electric drive customer orders.
Stephan von Schuckmann, member of ZF's management board responsible for electric drives and materials Management, said: "With this strategically important initiative, we will strengthen the company's supply chain to ensure safe delivery to our customers. By 2030, our orders for electric drives have exceeded 30 billion euros. To fulfill this order quantity, we need support from several reliable SIC suppliers. ST's experience in complex systems research and development meets our requirements, and most importantly, ST's products are of high quality and can be produced at a volume that meets our needs." Having announced its existing silicon carbide technology cooperation agreement in February, ZF's new agreement with stmicroelectronics adds to the support of one of the world's top suppliers of silicon carbide technology.
Marco Monti, President of STMicroelectronics Automotive and Discrete Device Products (ADG), said, "As a vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturing company, we are investing heavily to expand capacity and develop the silicon carbide supply chain to help our automotive and industrial customers globally and in Europe achieve their electrification and low-carbon goals. Greater scalability and modularity, as well as greater energy efficiency, peak power and reduced cost, are key to the success of electric vehicle technology. Our silicon carbide technology helps to realize these advantages. We are proud to partner with ZF, an advanced automotive electrification provider, to help them differentiate and optimize the performance of their inverters."
