Intel Wins $150 Billion Antitrust Lawsuit Against EU
According to the Guardian and Euronews on the 24th (local time), the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the highest court in the EU, made a final ruling on that day to cancel the 1.06 billion euro (approximately 1.5855 trillion won) fine imposed on Intel by the EU Commission in 2009 for “abuse of market dominance.”
The ECJ explained its ruling by saying that “there was not sufficient evidence to show that Intel used market dominance and strategies to exclude competitors, including through illegal rebates.”
Fifteen years ago, the EU Commission fined Intel for using illegal sales tactics to force its rival AMD out of the market. AMD is currently seen as a rival to Nvidia, the leader in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.
“TSMC US Semiconductor Production Yield Surpasses Taiwan”
According to Bloomberg News on the 25th (local time), Rick Cassidy, president of TSMC’s US subsidiary, said in a webinar held on the 23rd that the usable product ratio of semiconductors manufactured at TSMC’s fab in Phoenix, Arizona is about 4 percentage points (P) higher than the yield of a similar fab in Taiwan, an attendee reported.
TSMC CEO Weijer Zhao also said in the earnings conference call last week, “Our first fab in the U.S. started producing engineering wafers in April using 4nm (1nm is one billionth of a meter) process technology, and the results are very satisfactory, with very good yields.” He added, “This is an important operational milestone for TSMC and our customers, and demonstrates TSMC’s strong manufacturing capabilities and execution capabilities.”
‘Even Wolfspeed…’ German semiconductor factories are stranded one after another
According to ARD broadcast on the 24th (local time), Saarland Prime Minister Anke Rellinger held a press conference the previous day and announced that the construction of the Wolfspeed plant has been postponed indefinitely.
The American company Wolfspeed planned to build a semiconductor plant in Ensdorf, Saarland, with German auto parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen at a cost of 2.75 billion euros (about 5 trillion won). The German government also agreed to provide a subsidy of 500 million euros (about 750 billion won).
Wolfspeed had planned to produce silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors, a key component of electric vehicles, at its German plant. The state of Saarland and Wolfspeed said the downturn in the electric vehicle market had an impact.
BASF Commercializes PPA for Power Semiconductor IGBTs
BASF announced on the 24th that it has developed a polyphthalamide (PPA) material suitable for manufacturing insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) housings.
IGBT is one of the power semiconductors that enables efficient switching and control of electric circuits in power electronics. It is used in electric vehicles, high-speed trains, smart manufacturing, and renewable energy generation.
BASF explained that its PPA material is a laser-sensitive product using non-halogen flame retardants, and has high thermal stability, low moisture absorption, and excellent electrical properties. It has a lower creepage distance and better insulation than existing products, making it easy to miniaturize IGBTs.
Chinese companies increase semiconductor production capacity… “May threaten global market”
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 21st (local time) that concerns in the industry are growing due to the aggressive expansion of production capacity by Chinese memory semiconductor manufacturers. According to the report, in particular, Changxin Memory Technology (CXMT), a major Chinese DRAM semiconductor company, has recently been increasing investment in DRAM memory production facilities.
According to Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce, Chinese companies’ share of the world’s DRAM production capacity based on semiconductor wafers was 4% in 2022, but will increase to 11% this year. Morgan Stanley forecasts that China’s share of DRAM production capacity will reach 16% by the end of next year.
However, the general consensus is that the actual production capacity falls short of this. Investment firm Bernstein pointed out that CXMT’s bit density, which measures the actual storage capacity per unit area of a semiconductor, is only 55% of that of leading competitors. It added that CXMT’s production yield is low, so it cannot produce many effective chips per unit of capacity.
TI, Japan’s Aizu fab in operation…GaN power semiconductor manufacturing capacity quadrupled
Texas Instruments (TI) announced on the 25th that it has started manufacturing GaN (gallium nitride)-based power semiconductors at its Aizu, Japan manufacturing facility.
With the addition of the Izu fab, TI has quadrupled its manufacturing capacity of its own GaN-based power semiconductors, adding to its existing GaN manufacturing facility in Dallas, Texas.
GaN is a semiconductor material that replaces silicon and offers advantages in energy efficiency, switching speed, power solution size and weight, overall system cost, and high temperature and high voltage conditions. GaN semiconductors can be used in power adapters for laptops and mobile phones, air conditioning systems, and motors for home appliances that require higher power density or power in a smaller space.
Semes develops semiconductor dry cleaning equipment ‘Puritas’
Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Semes announced on the 21st that it has developed mass production of Korea’s first plasma-type semiconductor dry cleaning equipment (equipment name PURITAS).
This equipment was developed to overcome the limitations of existing wet cleaning methods due to miniaturization and high integration of semiconductor patterns (microcircuits). It uses remote plasma instead of direct plasma on the wafer, enabling highly selective cleaning and etching of various film qualities, and also greatly improving productivity.
The equipment is expected to be used in manufacturing three-dimensional (3D) DRAM, CFET (complementary field-effect transistor), and a new transistor structure called GAA (gate all-around).
Hyundai Glovis, Rapidly Suppressing Electric Vehicle Fires… Penetrating Equipment Introduced
Hyundai Glovis announced on the 24th that it has supplied the ‘EV Drill Lance’, a penetrating electric vehicle fire suppression equipment, to its car carriers.
This drill lance is a device that drills a hole directly from the bottom of the vehicle to the battery pack in the event of an electric vehicle fire and sprays water to extinguish the fire. The drill works by using the water supplied through a hose from a fire hydrant to turn a turbine under strong pressure.
This drill drills holes into the underbody and battery pack in less than two minutes. It then sprays water directly into the battery pack to extinguish the fire within 30 minutes. This means that rapid fire extinguishment is possible.
Hyundai Glovis has improved the EV drill lance to suit the marine transport environment. The long handle part of the equipment has been divided into several short parts so that the length can be adjusted according to the on-site situation. This allows the equipment to be operated even in narrow spaces on board ships.
Battery ‘Chasm’, CATL Invests 1.2 Trillion Won in Large-Scale Expansion
Ningde Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology announced on the 25th that Puning Shidai, a subsidiary of CATL, has started construction of a lithium-ion battery plant in Ningde, Fujian Province.
The factory that has been started is Puning Shidai’s fifth factory. 6.47 billion yuan (1.24 trillion won) will be invested in the fifth factory. The factory will consist of four production lines and will be equipped with world-class battery lines and smart manufacturing equipment.
The production capacity of Plant 5 is 25GWh per year. It is scheduled to be completed in June next year and begin mass production immediately. As of the end of last year, CATL’s secondary battery production capacity was 293GWh per year. Puning’s Plant 5 accounts for approximately 8.5% of the total production capacity.
LG Chem files patent infringement lawsuit against Chinese cathode material company
According to industry sources on the 23rd, LG Chem recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Jaesinenwon, a Korean subsidiary of China’s Longbai, at the Seoul Central District Court.
LG Chem claims that Longbai used LG Chem’s NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathode material technology patent without permission and produced and sold products through Jaeseongnungwon. Cathode materials account for approximately 40% of the battery production cost and are a key material that determines the battery’s lifespan, etc.
LG Chem has been accumulating cathode material technology since it began mass producing NCM cathode materials for the first time in the world in 2006, and currently holds approximately 1,300 cathode material patents worldwide.
China’s Yinghe Keji to supply cylindrical battery equipment to Samsung SDI
Inghekeji recently reported, “We have recently received another order from a major Korean customer. We have successfully developed the next-generation 2170 (diameter 21mm, length 70mm) cylindrical battery winder equipment with the Korean customer, and have received a large order from the company.” He added, “Based on our R&D capabilities and abundant overseas project experience, we have become the only company to have supplied 2170 battery winder equipment to the company’s Malaysian plant.”
Although Inghekeji did not disclose the name of the customer, Samsung SDI is the only domestic cylindrical battery manufacturer that operates a factory in Malaysia. Samsung SDI is interpreted to have expanded its supply scope following the introduction of Inghekeji winder equipment to its Malaysian factory.
China Expands Electric Vehicle Control with Smartphones… BYD Joins Hands with Oppo to Develop Technology
According to Chinese economic media Caixin on the 25th, BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle company, announced the previous day that it had signed a partnership agreement with Chinese smartphone company Oppo for technology development.
The two companies plan to enable BYD’s vehicles to be controlled by OPPO’s mobile phones, which ranked second in China’s smartphone market share and fourth in the world’s market share as of the second quarter of this year. In this regard, BYD announced that OPPO’s Find X8 series will be the first to support connectivity with BYD’s affiliate Denza Z9GT.
As the era of electric vehicles has arrived, the boundaries between the automobile and smartphone industries are breaking down as technologies are being developed that range from simple functions like opening and closing car doors to controlling the vehicle’s operating system (OS) with a smartphone. It is an era where electric vehicle companies and smartphone companies are collaborating, and electric vehicle companies are developing smartphones, or conversely, companies that used to make smartphones are now manufacturing electric vehicles.
Chinese electric car maker Rioto to adopt Snapdragon Cockpit Elite
As Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon Cockpit Elite, a system-on-chip (SoC) for vehicle digital instrument clusters, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer has decided to adopt it for use in its vehicles.
At the Snapdragon Summit 2024 held at the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott in Maui, Hawaii on the 22nd (local time), Jumin U. Rioto, head of strategic sourcing and purchasing, announced, “We have been working with Qualcomm since our first product and are currently adopting the Snapdragon Digital Chassis,” and “We will officially work with Qualcomm on the next-generation product called the Snapdragon (Cockpit) Elite.”
Li Auto is a Chinese electric car manufacturer. They delivered 1 million vehicles in the $30,000+ price range in 58 months.
SK On, 50% domestic electric vehicle battery market share, ‘No. 1’
According to data submitted to Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 24th, as of the 22nd, out of 598,650 electric vehicles registered in Korea, vehicles equipped with batteries from Korean companies were the most numerous at 467,849 units (78.15%), followed by vehicles equipped with Chinese batteries at 104,654 units (17.48%). Japan ranked third with 24,674 units (4.12%).
By manufacturer, electric vehicles equipped with SK On batteries had the highest share at 303,107 units (50.6%). LG Energy Solution ranked second with 125,320 units (20.1%), and China’s CATL ranked third with 91,028 units (15.2%).
Self-driving robots deliver packages to your doorstep… and even climb stairs
Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced on the 23rd that it will be piloting a robot delivery service for apartment complex residents in cooperation with autonomous driving delivery robot development startup ‘Mobinn’.
This service is an outdoor autonomous robot delivery service that links residents with the community and shops within the complex, and is being piloted for residents of ‘Hillstate Lapiano Samsong’, a standalone townhouse completed in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do last year.
Robots provide delivery services to the front door of each resident’s home based on a logistics center set up in the community facility. Residents can easily use the webpage for all orders and payments. The autonomous robots carry the products ordered by residents and move along the walkways within the complex, climbing up and down stairs and curbs, and avoiding obstacles to deliver to customers, providing a ‘door to door’ service.
Lotte autonomous shuttle runs at 40km/h
Lotte Innovation announced on the 21st that it has obtained a temporary operating permit for its ‘Type B autonomous vehicle,’ a driverless autonomous shuttle, at a top speed of 40 km/h.
Currently, Type B autonomous vehicles that have received temporary operation permits can drive at a maximum speed of 25 km/h. With this certification, Lotte Innovation can now drive on the road at a speed of 40 km/h, which is 60% faster than before.
The company explains that this is expected to bring autonomous vehicles one step closer to becoming popular as they can run at a similar speed to regular cars without significantly disrupting traffic flow when driving in the city.
Autonomous A2Z, first public unveiling of fully autonomous vehicle… Targeting sales of 200 units next year
Autonomous A2Z (hereinafter referred to as A2Z) has unveiled its first mass-produced model that operates with fully autonomous driving technology. Han Ji-hyung, CEO of A2Z, introduced a level 4 fully autonomous driving actual vehicle at the ‘Future Innovation Technology Expo (FIX) 2024’ that opened at Daegu EXCO on the 23rd.
The name of the car is ‘ROii’. A2Z explained that the name is a combination of ‘ROad’, ‘interaction’, and ‘i’, meaning that it will expand the personal lifestyle into the realm of mobility with a free and smart journey and route (ROad) experience that interacts with the individual (i) lifestyle beyond driving.
Roy is a Korean model equipped with a platform developed by A2G. It is a level 4 autonomous vehicle that will be released in accordance with the Act on Promotion and Support of Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles (Autonomous Vehicle Act) that will be implemented starting in March next year, and its goal is to receive government certification.
Sony and Honda to Equip Electric Vehicles with AI in 2026… Improved Autonomous Driving Performance
The Nikkei Shimbun reported on the 20th that Sony Group and Honda are introducing a function to improve autonomous driving performance using artificial intelligence (AI), a first for a Japanese company, in an electric vehicle they are jointly developing.
Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between Sony and Honda, plans to use its independently developed operating system (OS) for the electric vehicle ‘Afila’, scheduled to be launched in the US and Japan in 2026, to improve autonomous driving performance in line with the evolution of AI.
According to Canadian market research firm Presidency Research, the global market size for autonomous vehicles is expected to grow rapidly to $2.7528 trillion (about 3,770 trillion won) in 2033, 17 times that of 2023.
Autocrypt Passes North America’s First V2X Security Compatibility Test
Software company AUTOCRYPT announced on the 25th that it has been selected as the second automotive security company in the United States after passing the North American region’s future vehicle-to-everything (V2X) security compatibility test.
Autocrypt recently became the first in North America to pass the SCMS (SCMS) interoperability test by Integrity Security Services (ISS), a U.S. V2X equipment and security software company, at the V2X Interoperability Test Showcase held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.
This test is the first in North America to use real road infrastructure to propagate traffic information messages and verify the integrity of multiple certificates. To date, only two companies have passed the compatibility test: Autocrypt and GHS ISS, an embedded security company with $250 million in annual revenue. GHS ISS has monopolized the V2X security market in the United States.
Etiforce Participates in 5G-V2X Global Demo Hosted by 5GAA
Etiforce will demonstrate 5G communication and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication with major partners at the 32nd 5G Automobile Association meeting in Berlin, Germany on the 24th (local time). Major V2X equipment manufacturers, including Audi and BMW, and chip manufacturers will participate to demonstrate interoperability to automakers and government officials from each country.
5GAA organized this event to demonstrate that 5G-V2X is ready for implementation on public roads. The demonstration showcases high-bandwidth transmission using 5G-V2X direct communication along with European standard V2X messages. It is expected that this will lead to policy legislation for 5G-V2X utilization.
V2X communication is an essential communication technology for connected cars and autonomous vehicles above level 4. Korea, the United States, the European Union (EU), China, etc. are finalizing V2X communication policies and investing in infrastructure. Etiforce implemented the cellular method adopted as a national standard by Korea, China, the United States, etc. in the software-defined modem (SDM) method.
“LG Display expected to turn a profit in Q4”
On the 24th, the securities industry predicted that LG Display would be able to turn a profit in the fourth quarter of this year.
Kim So-won, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, predicted, “Consolidated sales for the fourth quarter will increase 4% year-on-year to KRW 7.7 trillion, and operating profit will reach KRW 322.4 billion, recording the best performance since the fourth quarter of 2021, thanks to the seasonal peak season effect for mobile panels.”
Kim Woon-ho, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, said, “It is difficult to expect a significant improvement in LCD, but W OLED and P OLED volumes are at their highest levels this year, and in particular, P OLED profitability is expected to improve significantly as depreciation of the E6 line ends,” and predicted operating profit for the fourth quarter at 384 billion won.
Solus Advanced Materials Invests in ‘OLED Materials’… Expands and Moves Iksan Plant
Solus Advanced Materials announced on the 24th that it held a groundbreaking ceremony at the new construction site in Hamyeol, Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, attended by CEO Kim Tae-hyung and other key executives.
The Hamyeol Complex is home to the non-luminescent material (polymer material) plant of Solus I-Tech, a subsidiary of Solus Advanced Materials, which was completed last year. Solus Advanced Materials is currently planning to move its luminescent material (organic material) production plant in Iksan to Hamyeol and develop it into a new strategic production base for OLED materials encompassing both luminescent and non-luminescent materials.
The new production base will be built with a total construction area of 5,736㎡, including a factory building, a composite building, an office building, and a utility building. It is approximately twice the construction area (2,891㎡) of the Iksan plant located in the Iksan 2nd General Industrial Complex.
Source: kipost.net