Shin-Etsu Chemical opens new plant in Korea after 56 years
As the Japanese government speeds up the ‘semiconductor boom’, semiconductor materials company Shin-Etsu Chemical is starting to establish a new domestic manufacturing base for the first time in 56 years.
According to the Nippon Keizai Shimbun on the 8th, Shin-Etsu Chemical plans to establish a new semiconductor materials factory in Gunma Prefecture. Shin-Etsu Chemical’s new plant is scheduled to be completed in 2026, and will produce materials used in the exposure process to draw circuits on semiconductor wafers, such as photoresist and raw material.
Shin-Etsu Chemical acquired approximately 150,000 m2 of business land in Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture to build a new factory, and plans to invest 83 billion yen (approximately 740.8165 billion won).
Rebellion passes PCIe 5.0 test with AI semiconductor
Artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor startup Rebellion announced on the 12th that its ‘Atom Card’ equipped with ‘ATOM’, an AI semiconductor for data centers, has passed the PCIe 5.0 compliance test and verified stable data communication performance.
PCIe refers to a technical standard that allows various components inside a computer to exchange data quickly and accurately. It is used in various electronic devices such as solid state drives (SSD) and graphics cards. The PCIe 5.0 compliance test is hosted by the industry standardization organization ‘PCI-SIG’ and evaluates how reliably a specific device supports PCIe. Rebellion is evaluated as having proven the technology, performance, and compatibility to support the latest 5th generation PCIe by passing this test. PCIe 5.0 has a data transfer speed that is twice as fast as the previous generation.
Japanese semiconductor company Rapidus is based in Silicon Valley… “Aiming at the AI market”
Yomiuri Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on the 13th that Rapidus, a company established by a major Japanese company to domestically produce cutting-edge semiconductors, is establishing a subsidiary to serve as a sales base in Silicon Valley, California, USA.
According to reports, Rapidus plans to open an office in Santa Clara, Silicon Valley and begin sales to surrounding companies starting next month.
At a press conference in Silicon Valley on the 11th (local time), Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike emphasized, “It is very important to operate in this region where leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies are located.” He added, “In the early stages of (semiconductor production), Silicon Valley companies will take a significant portion (of orders).”
Hanmi Semiconductor, following SK Hynix, supplies HBM equipment ‘TC Bonder’ to Micron
Hanmi Semiconductor announced on the 11th that it would supply ‘Dual TC Bonder Tiger’ equipment for HBM manufacturing to Micron. The contract size is 22.6 billion won, and supply is scheduled to be completed by July 8.
Hanmi Semiconductor jointly developed ‘Dual TC Bonder’ with SK Hynix in 2017 and has been supplying it to this day. After 7 years, the company signed a TC bonder contract with Micron and now has all the world’s DRAM manufacturing companies as customers except Samsung Electronics.
Previously, Hanmi Semiconductor received orders worth 200 billion won for dual TC bonder equipment from SK Hynix from last year until recently.
Huawei accelerates development of ‘dream equipment’ exposure machine
Huawei, which is building a semiconductor ecosystem with full support from the Chinese government, is building a large-scale semiconductor equipment research and development (R&D) center. Here, Huawei aims to develop lithography equipment essential for cutting-edge semiconductor production. As U.S. sanctions intensify, it becomes difficult to secure microprocessing equipment, including EUV (extreme ultraviolet) exposure machines exclusively supplied by Dutch equipment company ASML, so the company plans to find a breakthrough through in-house development.
According to Nikkei Asia on the 12th, Huawei is constructing a semiconductor equipment R&D center in Qingpu District, western Shanghai, China. This place, which is being developed by the city of Shanghai as a high-tech campus, is home to major semiconductor development centers, including the headquarters of HiSilicon, Huawei’s semiconductor design subsidiary. Shanghai Qingpu District People’s Government plans to invest 12 billion yuan (about 2.26 trillion won) to build this campus. Huawei is also increasing its own R&D spending.
The U.S. provides 16 trillion won, including 9 trillion won in semiconductor subsidies, to Taiwan’s TSMC
In accordance with the Semiconductor Act (Chips Act), the U.S. government provided a total of $11.6 billion (KRW 15.7 trillion) in funding, including $6.6 billion (approximately KRW 8.9 trillion) in subsidies to Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest foundry (semiconductor consignment production) company. do.
According to Reuters and the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 8th (local time) that it would provide TSMC with $6.6 billion in subsidies to establish a semiconductor factory. In addition to subsidies, the Ministry of Commerce decided to provide low-interest loans worth $5 billion (KRW 6.8 trillion) to TSMC.
Accordingly, TSMC announced that it had agreed to expand the investment scale originally planned from $40 billion (KRW 54.2 trillion) to $65 billion (KRW 88.1 trillion) and to add a third plant in Arizona by 2030.
ALT invests in new facilities to ‘expand non-memory semiconductor business’
ALT, a company specializing in non-memory semiconductor back-end process testing, announced on the 12th that it will invest in new facilities and acquire equipment for testing non-memory semiconductors to expand its non-memory semiconductor business.
ALT decided to invest 20 billion won to build a second factory to expand its non-memory semiconductor testing business. Through investment in new facilities, ALT has secured facilities capable of additionally expanding CAPA worth KRW 114.4 billion from the existing CAPA of KRW 84.1 billion, securing a total CAPA facility of over KRW 200 billion.
This new facility will be built in Ochang Techno Valley. The total area is approximately 66,115 m2 and is expected to be completed in 2025, greatly expanding customer response capabilities.
Hyundai Mobis shows off new technology at the Electric Vehicle Olympics
Hyundai Mobis announced on the 11th that it will participate in the 37th World Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition (EVS37), which will be held at COEX in Seoul for four days starting from the 23rd. The plan is to showcase core technologies as a leading future mobility brand.
EVS37 is the world’s largest electric vehicle academic conference and exhibition hosted by the World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) and the Electric Vehicle Association of Asia Pacific (EVAAP) and hosted by the Korea Society of Automotive Engineers (KSAE). It is held on a rotating basis every year on three continents (North America/Europe/Asia). It will be held in Korea for the first time in 9 years.
Hyundai Mobis researchers will participate in this conference in large numbers and present dozens of papers related to electric vehicles.
MinTech, IPO confident with 200 billion won valuation
MinTech, a company specializing in electric vehicle battery inspection and diagnosis, will be listed on the KOSDAQ market next month. Mintech, whose major shareholders include LG Energy Solutions and EcoPro Partners, is looking at a market capitalization of more than 200 billion won after listing. MinTech has captured the hearts of battery manufacturers with its technology that diagnoses batteries without taking them apart, disassembling them, or charging or discharging them. MinTech plans to expand its production facilities with public offering funds and enter the global market.
Hong Young-jin, CEO of Mintech, held a press conference at Building 63 in Yeouido, Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th and said, “Demand for electric vehicles may slow down for a while, but this is the direction we will go in the long term.” He added, “We will leap forward as a global standard battery diagnostic solution company with sales of 100 billion won and operating profit margin.” “We will achieve 20-30%,” he said.
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Equipped with First Indian Batteries… ‘India’ electric vehicle success
For the first time, Indian batteries produced by a local company will be installed in electric vehicles (EVs) exclusively for India to be launched by Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors. We will strengthen our position as a leading electric vehicle company in India based on localization of batteries.
On the 8th, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia signed a strategic business agreement with Exide Energy, an Indian battery specialist, to localize battery cells for electric vehicles exclusively for India.
Exide Energy is a subsidiary established in 2022 by Exide, the leading company in the lead-acid battery market share in India, for the electric vehicle battery business. We plan to mass produce battery cells for electric vehicles at the end of this year.
Tesla founder says it would be a shame to give up on low-cost electric vehicle plans
Reuters reported on the 9th (local time) that Tesla founder and former CEO Martin Eberhard said of the recently announced cancellation of Tesla’s low-cost electric vehicle plan, “It is a shame to hear such news.” .
Martin Amberheard attended the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong as a speaker and said, “Tesla’s delay or elimination of its entry-level Model 2 program is a sign that there is an opportunity for growth in China.”
This means giving up on launching affordable electric vehicles for the public, which was Elon Musk’s goal. In 2006, Elon Musk chose a strategy of producing high-end models first and investing the profits in producing inexpensive cars.
Battery pack specialist company Elentec signs 90 billion investment memorandum of understanding
Elentec, a battery pack specialist company that held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new factory in Wanjang, Namsa-eup last year, decided to invest more than 90 billion won and actively cooperate in revitalizing the local economy by prioritizing Yongin City residents when hiring new employees.
After withdrawing from Shuning, Jiangsu Province, China, Elentec has been building a new factory on a 41,992㎡ industrial site in the Wanjang General Industrial Complex in Namsa-eup, Cheoin-gu since May of last year. The company plans to equip its factory in the Wanjang General Industrial Complex with battery pack production facilities to be installed in home ESS systems and hire 79 new employees.
Accordingly, an investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed with Yongin City and Elentec on the 8th. This is for both sides to cooperate with each other to ensure that Elentec’s investment back into the country is successful.
DS Danseok completes lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do
DS Danseok, a company specializing in resource circulation and regeneration, completed the construction of a lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling plant at the Gunsan National Industrial Complex in Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do on the 9th.
The DS Danseok plant carries out a process to recover approximately 5,000 tons of active material (black mass) containing high value-added materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt per year by discharging lithium-ion batteries that have reached the end of their life, separating and shredding modules and packs.
DS Danseok explained that it invested 8 billion won to build a factory and hired 40 new people, and plans to increase investment to meet the demand for lithium-ion batteries.
L&F signs a contract to supply cathode materials worth 9 trillion won with a European company
L&F, a secondary battery materials manufacturer, announced on the 11th that it had signed a long-term contract with a European battery company to supply cathode materials worth 9.24 trillion won for six years.
The supply period will be six years from January next year to the end of 2030, and a total of 176,000 tons of cathode materials will be supplied. In October last year, there was a prediction in the industry that L&F would sign a contract to supply cathode materials for ’20 trillion won over 5 years, at least 80,000 tons per year’ with a European customer, but the contract size was cut in half as demand for electric vehicles recently plummeted.
Both the supply period and scale appear to have taken into account the electric vehicle and battery market chasm (temporary slowdown in demand before popularization). However, there is a possibility that additional contracts may be signed in the future depending on the atmosphere of the electric vehicle market. L&F did not disclose the company name in accordance with a confidentiality agreement with its client.
POSCO DX-Iyobot creates autonomous driving system for unmanned equipment
POSCO DX will jointly develop an autonomous driving and collision prevention system that applies LiDAR sensors to unmanned facilities in industrial sites and begin field application in earnest.
On the 11th, POSCO DX signed a memorandum of understanding with Iyobot, a LiDAR specialist company, at the Pangyo building for a joint project using LiDAR.
Through this collaboration, the two companies will attach LiDAR sensors to unmanned mobile facilities such as AGVs (autonomous transport vehicles), AMRs (autonomous mobile robots), cranes, and raw material transport vehicles operated in industrial sites to enable autonomous driving. We plan to develop a system that can prevent safety accidents such as collisions in advance and spread it to the field.
GM autonomous driving company resumes business… Started collecting road information in Phoenix, USA
Cruise, the self-driving subsidiary of General Motors (GM), is resuming its driverless robotaxi business.
Cruz issued a press release on the 9th (local time) and announced that it would begin collecting road information with drivers on board in select cities, starting with Phoenix, Arizona.
Cruise explained that when autonomous driving is not activated, the driver drives the vehicle manually. Previously, Cruise began piloting a robotaxi service in San Francisco last year, but halted the operation due to safety concerns.
Stradvision and Horizon Robotics launch developer solution
Stradvision, a startup developing artificial intelligence (AI)-based image recognition software ‘SVNet’, announced on the 9th that it has launched a developer-customized SVNet using Horizon Robotics’ Journey™ 3 computing solution.
Stradvision and Horizon Robotics signed a strategic partnership in September 2023 and began cooperation in developing autonomous driving solutions.
StradVision SVNet’s next-generation approach, 3D Perception Network, has been optimized for the Horizon Robotics Journey 3 computing solution, and this strategic partnership has been strengthened based on the vision of providing cost-effective driving solutions.
BOS Semiconductor collaborates with Hodu AI Lab to optimize NPU-SW
BOS Semiconductor has begun cooperation in AI chip-software optimization with Hodu AI Lab, an artificial intelligence (AI) automatic learning platform company.
The two companies announced on the 12th that they signed an agreement on the 5th to optimize AI software for neural network processing units (NPUs). This meeting was attended by Park Jae-hong, CEO of Bose Semiconductor, and Lee Jeong-woo, CEO of Hodu AI Lab.
Through this agreement, the two companies will develop and commercialize AI NPU accelerator system-on-chip (SoC) software lightweighting and optimization technology developed for self-driving cars. In particular, Hodu AI Lab plans to develop this technology into a software ecosystem for future use of edge AI chips.
Hodu AI Lab is an AI specialized startup founded by Seoul National University Lab (Professor Jeong-Woo Lee).
Musk “Robotaxi will be unveiled on August 8th”
esla CEO Elon Musk announced on the 5th (local time) that he will unveil a self-driving robotaxi (unmanned taxi) on August 8th. Musk has been talking about a robotaxi project for years. A robotaxi is a taxi that uses fully autonomous driving technology to autonomously pick up passengers and collect fares.
Robo taxis are already operating in some parts of the United States. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car division, operates driverless ride-hailing services in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and is currently expanding its service in Austin, Texas, Tesla’s home base.
Idemitsu Kosan plans to recruit new personnel, including Osan citizens
Idemitsu Advanced Materials Korea, a Japanese company based in Osan, Gyeonggi-do, plans to hire new employees, including Osan citizens.
Idemitsu Kosan is Japan’s leading petrochemical and materials company with annual sales of 95 trillion won. It has been producing organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials, and it is known that it plans to expand its business by expanding its product portfolio to include battery and semiconductor materials in addition to OLED.
According to Osan City on the 11th, Idemitsu Advanced Materials Korea is the first overseas independent research and development (R&D) corporation, and the field of new personnel recruitment is in the research and development field of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials.
Applicants must have a master’s degree or higher in science or engineering and have experience in research and development of OLED materials and devices, and those who can speak English or Japanese for research and work cooperation are preferred. The number of people selected will be 10 to 20, and recruitment is planned to be completed within this year.
OLED Spring is coming… “Rebound after 3 years”
Market research company DSCC analyzed that OLED sales this year will increase by 4% compared to the previous year. It decreased consecutively in 2022 and 2023, but a rebound was expected in three years.
As the OLED market, which was centered on smartphones, diversifies, sales are expected to rebound, especially in the information device (IT) market.
In fact, until last year, smartphones accounted for nearly 80% of the OLED market. The number of smartphones sold has increased since last year due to the expansion of low-price panel supply by Chinese companies, but sales have decreased as the average selling price (ASP) has decreased.
However, Apple’s iPad was expected to play a key role this year. Apple plans to install 12.9-inch and 11-inch OLEDs on two types of iPad Pro in the first half of this year. Apple is the world’s No. 1 tablet seller and plans to release approximately 9 to 10 million OLED iPads this year.
Source: kipost.net