REVIEW 2021 The power electronics industry in 2021 – turmoil and opportunity

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Although Covid’s impact on power electronics markets has continued into 2021, it has not all been negative. While car makers have suffered from chip shortages, the trend to EVs has accelerated. Personal electronics sales have also grown sharply. Overall, growth is forecast for the sector.

In 2020, the pandemic was the single huge factor behind most of the disruption and change we all lived through – and as 2021 draws to a close, this continues to be the case. Yet the disruption has brought winners as well as losers. Clearly, many businesses have suffered badly, or even terminally, with issues from staffing difficulties to supply chains or markets disappearing. However, many others, including plenty involved with power electronics, have been presented with new opportunities and increased sales volumes.

In fact, the power electronics market is expected to grow; a Global Market Insights report forecasts a CAGR of over 6.5 % from above USD19.5 billion in 2020 to USD30 billion plus in 2027.
This article looks at these positive and negative power electronics trends, their impact on the market, and possible implications for 2022 and beyond. We focus mainly on major power electronics consumer areas – electric vehicles (EVs), data centres, Industry 4.0/IoT, and personal electronics such as laptops, mobile phones and games consoles.