Infineon strengthens home appliance market position

7th May 2015

Jordan Mulcare

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It has been announced that Infineon Technologies has purchased all outstanding shares of LS Power Semitech. The strategic acquisition increases Infineon’s global footprint in the growing market segment of Intelligent Power Modules (IPM) which enable higher energy efficiency in consumer appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dryers and air conditioners.

Growth in the IPM product segment is a result of the worldwide trend for greater energy efficiency in consumer appliances as well as light industrial drive applications. Depending on the application, variable speed motors using IPMs consume only approximately half of the energy than simple on/off motors.

In appliances such as refrigerators, the efficiency gained by using one or more variable speed motors allows reduction in the amount of insulation required for the enclosure, which improves design flexibility while reducing material costs.

IPM products combine power semiconductors (IGBTs in this case) and IC components in high reliability and compact single package devices. Researchers at IHS Technology estimate that the world market for IPM products will grow at a compound annual rate approaching 10% from 2013 to 2018, with the consumer segment forecasted to grow at a 15.5% compound rate in that period. Major home appliances are expected to be the growth driver in this segment throughout the next years.

In the US, the trend towards higher energy efficiency has been fueled by new US Department of Energy standards aimed at reducing the energy consumption of refrigerators and freezers by at least 10%. In Korea, leading manufacturers have started to exclusively make goods with variable speed electric motors controlled by IPMs.