ANVIL SEMICONDUCTORS LTD

Their core work

Anvil Semiconductors is a UK deep-tech SME specializing in 3C-Silicon Carbide (3C-SiC) — the cubic polytype of SiC that can be grown hetero-epitaxially on standard silicon wafers, unlike the dominant 4H-SiC which requires costly dedicated SiC substrates. Their core work covers the full materials stack: epitaxial layer growth, substrate engineering, and the fabrication of SiC-based power MOSFETs with verified reliability. The commercial promise is significant: power electronics built on 3C-SiC on silicon could deliver higher efficiency and lower switching losses than conventional silicon devices at a fraction of the substrate cost of 4H-SiC. They sit at the intersection of advanced semiconductor materials and industrial power electronics, translating academic SiC science into manufacturable device technology.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their H2020 participation spans only 2016–2021, and the trajectory is clear even with two projects. The 2016 SME Phase 1 engagement was a concept-validation exercise — establishing that 3C-SiC on silicon was technically feasible and commercially viable enough to warrant investment; no detailed process keywords were recorded at that stage. By 2017 they had moved into the CHALLENGE RIA alongside European research partners, tackling the hard materials science: hetero-epitaxial growth mechanisms, compliance substrates, bulk crystal quality, MOSFET process integration, and long-term device reliability. The shift is from "can this work?" to "how do we make it work reliably and reproducibly at scale."

Anvil is on a trajectory from materials research toward application-ready power devices — future collaborations are likely to centre on device qualification, power module integration, or scale-up manufacturing for EV, renewable energy, or industrial motor drive markets.

How they like to work

Anvil has taken both a leadership role (SME Instrument coordinator) and a specialist partner role (CHALLENGE RIA participant), showing they can initiate their own technology agenda as well as contribute to larger research consortia. Their 14 partners across 7 countries from just 2 projects indicates they work in sizeable international consortia — typical for European SiC research where materials suppliers, device makers, and end users must all be present. As an SME, they most likely bring proprietary epitaxial growth know-how that larger academic or industrial partners cannot replicate in-house.

Despite only two projects, Anvil has engaged 14 distinct consortium partners across 7 countries — a broad footprint for a small UK SME, reflecting the pan-European nature of the SiC semiconductor research community. No single repeat-partner pattern is visible, suggesting open and diverse consortium building rather than a closed circle of preferred collaborators.

What sets them apart

Anvil's competitive edge is its focus on 3C-SiC specifically — a technically harder material to grow than 4H-SiC but potentially far cheaper to produce because it uses standard silicon wafers as the starting substrate. Most SiC power device companies (Infineon, Wolfspeed, STMicroelectronics) have committed to 4H-SiC; Anvil occupies the niche of making SiC economics viable for cost-sensitive markets where 4H-SiC substrates are prohibitively expensive. For a consortium builder, they offer rare proprietary process knowledge in an area where very few European SMEs have genuine IP.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHALLENGE
  The largest and most technically substantive project (€331,314, 2017–2021), this RIA represents Anvil's deepest documented contribution — advancing 3C-SiC hetero-epitaxy, bulk growth, and MOSFET reliability in an international consortium, and constituting the primary evidence base for their expertise profile.
• 3C-SiC Si
  As an SME Instrument Phase 1 coordinator, this 2016 project demonstrates Anvil's ability to independently identify and pitch a commercial technology opportunity to the European Commission, securing validation of their 3C-SiC roadmap at an early stage.