As automakers scramble to make electric vehicles (EVs) with longer ranges and speedier charging times, the chip industry has a message for them: You are doing it wrong.
Semiconductor companies are urging EV makers to ditch traditional silicon chips and embrace materials that would make vehicles more efficient, helping ease consumers’ “range anxiety” and someday making recharges as quick as a gas-station fill-up.
However, there is not an agreement yet on which approach to use. Silicon carbide is the front-runner, with gallium nitride emerging as a key contender.
What are these new materials? Well, silicon carbide — as the name suggests —