Smack Establishes Central Branch in Cheonan… “Spurring Conquest of Semiconductor Market”
Smac, a company specializing in machine tool and robot automation solutions, has opened a central branch in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Smac’s strategy is to use this to strengthen its presence in the semiconductor market.
The Central Branch will strengthen customer-oriented services such as ▲technical consultation ▲after-sales service (AS) ▲provision of customized automation solutions. It will also operate field-oriented technical support and education programs optimized for regional industrial characteristics. It will also focus on building a ‘next-generation manufacturing ecosystem’ that combines smart factory technology with machine tools and automation solutions.
US Strengthens Export Controls on Advanced Semiconductors Targeting China… Obligation to Conduct Due Diligence on Companies
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced additional export control regulations on advanced semiconductors targeting China on the 15th (local time), AFP reported.
The new export control regulations are part of an effort to make it harder for China to acquire advanced technologies for its military artificial intelligence (AI) development, and include strengthening due diligence requirements for companies to prevent them from transferring technology to China in a way that circumvents existing regulations, the news agency reported.
“By strengthening due diligence requirements, we will hold foundries accountable for verifying that the semiconductors they manufacture are not diverted to restricted export destinations,” said Alan Estevez, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security.
Qualitas Semiconductor Signs Additional Contract with Edge AI Semiconductor ‘Ambarella’
Ultra-high-speed interface IP (design asset) company Qualitas Semiconductor announced on the 17th that it signed an IP licensing agreement with U.S. edge AI semiconductor company Ambarella this week.
Under this agreement, Ambarella will utilize Qualitas Semiconductor’s C/D-PHY IP, implemented in a 5-nanometer (nm) process, to apply it to its next-generation artificial intelligence engine CVflow-based SoC (system-on-chip).
Ambarella is a global company leading edge AI and computer vision technology, providing AI-based solutions in various fields such as autonomous vehicles, security cameras, drones, and robots. In particular, it is drawing attention from the market for maximizing AI performance based on its CVflow architecture and for its high-efficiency, low-power design.
AI Chip Boom… TSMC’s Best-Ever Performance Last Year
TSMC, the world’s number one foundry, reported its highest sales and net profit ever last year. Analysis suggests that it benefited greatly from the ‘artificial intelligence (AI) boom’, with high-margin cutting-edge products accounting for over 70% of total sales.
TSMC announced on the 16th that its net profit for the fourth quarter of last year (October to December) was NT$374.68 billion (about KRW 16.57 trillion), up 57% from the fourth quarter of 2023. Sales for the fourth quarter were NT$868.46 billion (about KRW 38.4 trillion), up 38.8% year-on-year. The net profit margin was 43.1%.
TSMC’s annual sales last year also increased by 33.9% to NT$2.8943 trillion (about KRW 128 trillion) compared to 2023. Annual net profit was NT$1.1724 trillion (about KRW 52 trillion). Both of them broke the previous record set in 2022.
LG Innotek “Full-scale mass production of semiconductor substrates for big tech”
LG Innotek announced on the 12th that it has selected high value-added semiconductor package substrates to be supplied to big tech companies as its new main business and has begun full-scale mass production.
Moon Hyuk-soo, CEO of LG Innotek, announced at a press conference for CES 2025 held recently in Las Vegas, USA, “We have started mass production of FC-BGA (Flip Chip Ball Grid Array) to be used in North American big tech products,” and “We are pursuing development cooperation with several global big tech companies.” FC-BGA connects semiconductors and the main substrate, and is used in high-performance products such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving, and servers because it can connect complex circuits.
Korea Zinc to Promote Export of Antimony, a Key Mineral for Semiconductors, to the US
Korea Zinc announced on the 15th that it will pursue exports of antimony, a key mineral and strategic mineral resource, to the United States.
Antimony is one of the 28 key minerals specified in the ‘National Resources Security Special Act’ and is widely used in lead-acid batteries, cable coverings, semiconductors, infrared devices, defense products, and flame retardants.
According to Korea Zinc, antimony, a rare metal used in weapons, semiconductors, and batteries, is a resource that is experiencing a deepening global supply shortage after China, the world’s largest producer, implemented export controls last year.
Abaco speeds up entry into glass substrate market
Abaco, a secondary battery and OLED equipment specialist, announced on the 17th that it is accelerating its entry into the glass substrate market through cooperation with the German Schmid Group.
According to the company, Schmidt-Abaco Korea, a joint venture established in 2018 through a strategic alliance with Abaco, succeeded in developing printed circuit board (PCB) dry process equipment in 2019 and, based on this, secured the technology that can be applied to the packaging manufacturing process using glass substrates.
Currently, Avaco is reviewing the possibility of expanding into the glass substrate market using this, and is discussing supply for verification to global mobile and IT companies, it explained.
BYD lands in Korea with electric car worth 20 million won
Chinese electric car company BYD has entered the Korean electric passenger car market. The model that BYD, which is competing with Tesla for the ‘global electric car throne’, has put forward as its vanguard is the ‘Ato 3’. With subsidies, it can be purchased for around 20 million won. The era of low-cost electric cars is fast approaching.
BYD Korea held a passenger vehicle brand launching event at the Sangsang Platform in Jung-gu, Incheon on the 16th. BYD’s entry into Korea was a hot issue in the industry, with over 250 people, including domestic and foreign reporters, filling the venue. The first model released in the Korean market is the compact electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) Ato3. It is a car that has surpassed 1 million units in global sales in just three years since its launch in 2022. It can travel up to 349 km in the city and 287 km on the highway on a single charge. BYD Korea started pre-orders for the Ato3 on this day and will begin full-scale sales in the middle of next month.
Chaebi, electric vehicle charging infrastructure to be built at least 1,800 sites annually
Chaebi (formerly Daeyoung Chaebi), a rapid CPO (charging infrastructure operator), announced on the 15th that it has solidified its leading position in the industry by building over 1,800 rapid charging stations for two consecutive years.
Currently, Chaebi is the number one domestic rapid CPO operator, leading the market by directly operating approximately 5,500 public rapid charging stations (as of December last year). Including approximately 4,700 charging stations supplied to the Ministry of Environment, it operates a rapid charging infrastructure of over 10,000 nationwide, playing a key role in the development of the electric vehicle charging market.
EM&I completes mass production technology for all-solid-state batteries
EM&I announced on the 16th that it will conclude the ‘outsourcing development for mass production of solid electrolytes’ project with the top domestic company this month. The development project signed last September is a collaboration for mass production of solid electrolytes in line with the mass production of all-solid-state batteries.
Solid electrolytes are largely divided into sulfide, oxide, and polymer. EM&I screened the structures of hundreds of thousands of electrolyte material candidates based on solutions from Pascal, a French quantum computer development company, and Schrödinger, a molecular simulation and AI company on NASDAQ.
Pascal is a leading French quantum computer development company founded by Nobel Prize winner in Physics Alain Aspe, a professor at Paris-Saclay University. Schrödinger is the first AI new drug development company on NASDAQ, and is discovering various materials by applying AI technology.
Greenergy’s ‘LTO Battery’… A Game Changer in the Railway Market
Greenergy, a domestic LTO battery development and manufacturing company, is attracting attention by successfully developing a battery pack for railway vehicle control power (Auxiliary Power System, APS).
Greenergy announced on the 17th that it completed the development of APS utilizing LTO batteries in July of last year and installed it on a Daejeon Subway Line 1 train, completing actual operation verification of approximately 2,000 km. This is expected to be a significant turning point in the railway battery industry, as it confirmed the function, performance, and safety by putting it into service after completing the railway vehicle modification report.
Currently, the control power battery market mainly uses ‘nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd)’ batteries. However, Ni-Cd batteries have the disadvantage of containing hazardous substances and requiring maintenance work such as periodic removal and replenishment of distilled water.
Hana Technology Secures Order for All-Solid State Battery Equipment ‘WIP’
Hana Technology, a specialized company in secondary battery manufacturing equipment, announced on the 16th that it has secured an order for all-solid-state high-temperature and high-pressure press equipment (WIP) from a domestic battery manufacturer. Having recently received a formal purchase order (PO), it plans to supply the equipment to the pilot line in the first half of this year.
The WIP that Hanagisuk successfully won this time is a next-generation core equipment that is essential for the solid-state battery assembly process. It improves the durability and quality of the battery by simultaneously implementing high temperature and high pressure to increase the adhesion between the solid electrolyte and electrode material.
In particular, the WIP ‘HNP System for Solid State Battery’ developed by Hanagwan Technology is a device that can increase the efficiency and productivity of the entire production line by minimizing additional heat treatment or pressure processes in the chemical process, the company explained.
SK On-Ford Battery Joint Venture 4.9 Trillion Won Paid-in Capital Increase
SK Innovation’s battery business subsidiary SK On and Ford’s joint venture Blue Oval SK announced on the 15th that they will conduct a paid-in capital reduction of 3.4 billion dollars (approximately 4.9 trillion won). This is the second paid-in capital reduction following the decision on the first paid-in capital reduction of 2.8 billion dollars on the 17th of last month. A paid-in capital reduction refers to returning investment funds to shareholders while reducing capital.
SK Innovation explained, “It is a capital reallocation to improve the efficiency of overseas investment capital.” With this paid-in capital reduction, SK Battery America, SK On’s US corporation, and Ford will each be able to recover about 2.45 trillion won. They previously recovered 2 trillion won each in the first capital reduction. The total amount of Blue Oval SK’s paid-in capital reduction is 9 trillion won, and after the first and second capital reductions, Blue Oval SK’s capital will be reduced from about 16 trillion won to about 7 trillion won. This decision to reduce capital is in response to the US Department of Energy (DOE) recently confirming a loan support of up to 9.6 billion dollars for Blue Oval SK.
“It is difficult to survive with cost reduction alone”… Battery industry in danger of discharge due to Chinese quantity bomb
According to the battery industry, the combined operating loss of Samsung SDI and SK On, including LG Energy Solution, which announced a provisional operating loss of 225.5 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year, amounts to 700 billion won. According to the securities industry, Samsung SDI’s operating loss in the fourth quarter is expected to be 100-200 billion won, and SK On’s operating loss is expected to be 200-300 billion won. This is a decrease of about 1.35 trillion won compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, when a combined surplus of 600 billion won was recorded.
As the electric vehicle market chasm grows, the battery industry, fearing deficits, is tightening its belt and declaring emergency management.
The problem is that it is not easy to escape the crisis with cost reduction alone. China’s battery supply offensive is spreading beyond the domestic market to Europe, and the resulting damage is being transferred to domestic battery companies. In addition, there is a significant policy risk depending on the direction of the energy policy of the second Trump administration, which will be launched on the 20th.
Newbility, robot delivery to apartment front door
Newbility, a self-driving robot technology company, announced on the 14th that it has started a ‘door-to-door’ robot delivery service within apartment complexes in collaboration with Samsung C&T.
This service has been in pilot operation since December 2nd of last year at the ‘Raemian Leaders One’ complex in Seocho-dong, Seoul. When residents order drinks and food from nearby shops and the complex’s community cafes and restaurants, the self-driving robot ‘Newbie’ (pictured) delivers them to their front door.
Newbility has been providing a delivery service to the first floor entrance of the same apartment since June of last year. It has expanded the delivery range to indoors by having the robot call the elevator and move autonomously.
Wearable AI selected as the autonomous driving main company for the ‘Defense Venture Innovation Technology Support Project’
Self-driving startup Wearable AI announced on the 17th that it was selected as a company to carry out the ‘2024 Defense Venture Innovation Technology Support Project’ hosted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Agency for Defense Development (KRIT).
Through this selection, Wearable AI will conduct technology development worth 2.6 billion won over three years until December 2027. This project aims to develop a PBV (Purpose Built Vehicle) platform that can be used for heavy cargo and troop transport, as well as troop shelters, in order to solve the problem of a shortage of military transport personnel and traffic accidents involving transport vehicles.
StradVision, Building a ‘Data Management Workflow’ “Leading Autonomous Driving Technology”
StradVision (CEO Kim Jun-hwan) announced on the 16th that it recently built a ‘Data Management Workflow’ to support the development of the ‘SVNet 3D Recognition Network’ algorithm.
‘Data Management Workflow’ transfers all processes from data collection to processing, labeling, and cost settlement to cloud infrastructure. Through the optimization process, data quality is improved and costs are reduced.
The company said, “As demand for 3D data processing has skyrocketed, we have expanded the existing 2D vision-centered data into 3D data,” and “Accordingly, an automated data management system that can efficiently process massive data was needed.”
SOS Lab, Incheon International Airport Sign Agreement to Promote Digital Transformation
SOS Lab announced on the 15th that it signed a business agreement (MOU) with Incheon International Airport Corporation to promote digital transformation of Incheon Airport.
Based on this agreement, the two companies plan to cooperate in ‘establishing a system to discover new technology-based joint research projects’ to gradually carry out the digital transformation of Incheon Airport, and ‘conducting a POC (Proof of Concept) project to verify the effectiveness of LiDAR-based parking control.’
In particular, the company expects that if SOS Lab’s LiDAR-based parking guidance system (LPGS), which has been confirmed to be introduced at Gimhae International Airport and Yeosu International Airport, is applied to Incheon International Airport, it will be able to provide a faster and more convenient parking environment to more domestic and international airport users.
DH Autoware Develops Next-Generation Autonomous Driving Communication Technology
DH Autoware, an automotive electrical equipment specialist, announced on the 15th that it has developed an ultra-high-speed, lossless linkage technology between V2X (vehicle-to-everything) and IVN (in-vehicle networking) of autonomous vehicles through a national project.
The technology developed by DH Autoware this time can integrate internal and external data of autonomous vehicles and grasp the driving environment in real time. In the existing autonomous driving level, data processing centered on IVN is relied on, and V2X only plays a supporting role. When optimizing the linkage between IVN and V2X, the accuracy of the algorithm can be maximized.
DH Autoware plans to expand its domestic and international autonomous driving market strategy centered on core autonomous driving technologies. AVCC (Autonomous Vehicle Consortium), a consortium for autonomous vehicle platform development established by global semiconductor company Arm, is also conducting research on V2X and IVN linkage technologies, defining them as essential elements for realizing fully autonomous driving.
LGD Turns Black in One Year… Jeong Cheol-dong: “We Will Turn Around This Year with Differentiated Value”
LG Display recorded operating profit of 80 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year, recording a quarterly surplus for the first time in a year. It recorded sales of 7.8328 trillion won and operating profit of 83.1 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year. The analysis is that this is the result of improving the company’s constitution with high value-added products such as OLED.
At the 4th generation large-scale organic light-emitting diode (OLED) new technology briefing held at Magok Science Park on this day, President Jeong said, “Despite the favorable external environment last year, we were able to lay the foundation for a turnaround by focusing on securing customer value and profitability.” He continued, “Since our performance improved last year, the confidence of our members has increased,” and emphasized, “This year, (all members) will move in one direction and do their best for a turnaround.”
Seoul Semiconductor’s annual sales last year were 1.875 trillion won… 5% increase over the previous year
Seoul Semiconductor announced on the 14th that it had tentatively recorded consolidated sales of 262.6 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year.
The company met its fourth quarter sales guidance (KRW 260 billion to 280 billion) presented in its third quarter conference call.
Last year’s annual sales were recorded at 1.875 trillion won. This is a 5% increase from the previous year (1.324 trillion won). A detailed analysis of the sales and profit and loss for the fourth quarter and the sales outlook for the first quarter of this year will be announced through a performance announcement conference call and public notice in February.
Source: kipost.net