Automotive Capacitor Innovation.
Murata Introduces World's First 0805-inch High-Capacitance Soft-Termination MLCC for Automotive.
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Murata Manufacturing has launched what it calls the world's first 2.2μF/100Vdc soft-termination chip capacitor in the compact 0805-inch size — a component smaller than a grain of rice that could reshape how engineers design automotive electronics. The new part, designated GCJ21BD72A225KE02, cuts board mounting area by 51% compared to the previous 1206-inch equivalent, according to Financial Post.
The timing is no accident. Modern electric vehicles need 10,000 to 18,000 of these tiny components — called MLCCs, or multilayer ceramic capacitors — compared to roughly 3,000 in a traditional gas-powered car. Murata, which controls about 40% of the global MLCC market, is racing to meet that demand with smaller, tougher parts.
What Makes This Capacitor a World First
Before this product, getting 2.2 microfarads of capacitance at 100 volts required a larger 1206-inch chip — a footprint about 60% bigger. Murata's new 0805-inch part delivers the same electrical performance in a much smaller space. It also boosts capacitance by 2.3 times over Murata's own previous 0805-inch, 100-volt product, according to National Post.
The "soft-termination" part of the name matters too. Standard ceramic capacitors are brittle. They crack under the flex and vibration that cars experience every day. Murata's soft-termination design uses a conductive resin layer at each end of the chip. That resin acts like a shock absorber, soaking up board stress that would otherwise shatter the ceramic inside. The GCJ series can handle up to 5mm of board flexure without cracking.
EVs and Self-Driving Cars Are Driving Demand
The automotive industry's shift toward electric and autonomous vehicles is pushing engineers into a tight corner. Advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS, pack dozens of electronic control units into a car. Each unit needs hundreds of high-reliability capacitors. Space on those circuit boards is shrinking fast. By cutting the footprint by 51%, Murata's new part lets engineers fit more safety sensors and processing power into the same space, potentially accelerating the path to Level 3 and Level 4 self-driving capability.
The "CASE" trend — Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric — is the core pressure behind this product. Vehicles are becoming rolling computers. A single modern EV power system running on 48 volts needs capacitors that are both high in capacitance and tough enough to survive a decade of road use. Murata says it will keep expanding its automotive-grade MLCC lineup to meet that need.
Price Hikes Signal a Tight and Competitive Market
The new product arrives just two months after Murata raised prices by 15% to 35% on high-capacitance and automotive parts. Murata President Norio Nakajima confirmed the increases were driven by surging demand from both the EV and AI server sectors. A single high-end AI server can require up to 30,000 MLCCs — putting it in direct competition with automakers for the same parts made on the same production lines.
Rivals are moving fast too. Samsung Electro-Mechanics launched its own high-voltage MLCC lines for EV power systems in 2026. Taiyo Yuden raised its own prices by 6% to 13% to manage high demand. TDK is also competing hard on automotive-grade parts. Some procurement managers remain cautious about Murata specifically, noting that during the 2021–2022 chip shortage, lead times for high-capacitance Murata parts stretched beyond 30 weeks.
Smaller Parts, Bigger Stakes for Supply Chains
The miniaturization has real economic benefits. Smaller components mean smaller circuit boards, which lowers material costs and reduces manufacturing waste. But the gains come with a catch. These "world-first" specialty parts carry premium prices and limited production capacity. Supply chain analysts warn that if AI server demand spikes further, automotive customers could find themselves in an allocation battle with data center operators for the same high-end MLCCs.
Murata's R&D strength gives it an edge for now. The company posted consolidated net sales of roughly 1.75 trillion Japanese yen for the fiscal year ending March 2025. That financial muscle funds the precise ceramic particle engineering — thinner dielectric layers, tighter tolerances — that makes breakthroughs like the GCJ21BD72A225KE02 possible in the first place.
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