Will the dream of a Japanese semiconductor kingdom be revived? TSMC begins mass production in Japan
TSMC’s first factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, began mass production this month.
Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura announced at a regular press conference on the 27th that he had been contacted by JASM, the operator of TSMC’s Kumamoto plant, on the 23rd that “mass production had begun this month.” TSMC had previously announced that it would begin shipments within this month.
Governor Kimura explained that he had asked JASM to contact him once operations began for a drainage monitoring survey from the plant. “It appears that production has begun at a normal level,” he said, adding, “I do not know the specific date of operation.”
Lotte Chemical Group Invests 130 Billion Won in Core Semiconductor Materials
Handeok Chemical, a semiconductor core material company in the chemical group, is investing 130 billion won to build a semiconductor developer (TMAH) production facility in the Pyeongtaek area of Gyeonggi Province as part of its efforts to strengthen its high value-added specialty business.
HanDeok Chemical announced on the 26th that it signed an investment agreement with the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority (hereinafter referred to as the Gyeonggi Economic Zone Authority) and Pyeongtaek City at the Pyeongtaek Port Marine Center in Gyeonggi Province.
According to the agreement, Handeok Chemical will secure a new site measuring 9,746 pyeong in the Poseung District of Pyeongtaek, begin construction of a TMAH production facility in the second half of next year, and begin production at the end of 2026.
SK Enpulse to split semiconductor post-processing equipment business and sell CMP pad business
SK Enpulse, an investment company in SKC’s semiconductor materials business, is spinning off its semiconductor post-processing equipment business and selling its CMP pad business.
SKC announced on the 24th that its subsidiary SK Enpulse has decided to spin off its tester, EFEM (Equipment Front End Module), and chemical divisions, which manufacture and sell semiconductor post-processing equipment and components.
The newly established company to be spun off will be called ISEMI Co., Ltd. (tentative name), and SK Enpulse will hold a 100% stake in it. Business divisions excluding the subject of the split will remain as the surviving company, SK Enpulse.
US, China General Semiconductor Sanctions… Industry: “It’s Already Too Late”
The White House announced on the 23rd (local time) that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) had launched an investigation into Chinese general-purpose semiconductors based on Section 301 of the Trade Act, saying, “This is a measure to protect American workers and industries from China’s unfair trade practices in the semiconductor sector and to support our own general-purpose semiconductor industry.”
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also released a statement through a spokesperson that day, saying, “We express strong dissatisfaction with the USTR’s investigation and resolutely oppose it.”
Regarding the fact that the US and China are now in conflict over not only advanced semiconductors but also general products, semiconductor experts are responding that “US sanctions are already too late.”
European semiconductor companies expand facility investment in China
According to local Chinese media on the 27th, European chip manufacturers such as Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and NXP are increasing their investments in local facilities in China. Infineon, NXP, and STMicroelectronics, along with Texas Instruments (TI) of the United States, account for about half of the automotive semiconductor market share.
As China emerges as a major player in the automotive semiconductor industry, the sales ratio of related companies in the Chinese region is also high. According to Infineon and NXP IR data, the sales ratio in the Chinese region last year was the highest at 25% and 33%, respectively. ST Micro’s Asia-Pacific region sales ratio is 30%, and more than half of that is known to be generated in China.
Accordingly, European automotive semiconductor companies such as Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and NXP are expanding their local production systems. STMicroelectronics plans to start full-scale operation of a production facility in which it has made a $3.2 billion (approximately KRW 4.6 trillion) joint investment with China’s Sanan Optoelectronics for the development of next-generation automotive semiconductors, silicon carbide (SiC), in the fourth quarter of next year.
930 billion won in support for Rapidus in Japan’s next year’s budget
The Japanese government announced that it will include 100 billion yen (approximately 931.3 billion won) in the budget for fiscal year 2025 (April 2025 to March 2026) to invest in “Rapidus,” which aims to mass-produce advanced semiconductors. In addition, a bill to support Rapidus is scheduled to be submitted to the regular Diet session next year.
The Asahi Shimbun reported on the 26th that the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry held its first expert meeting the day before to discuss Rapidus support measures and explained the outline of the bill.
The Japanese government has already decided to provide up to 920 billion yen (about 8.6 trillion won) in research and development support to Lapidus. With this funding, Lapidus will begin producing prototypes at its Chitose City, Hokkaido, plant next spring. Lapidus aims to mass produce cutting-edge semiconductors in 2027, but it needs an additional 4 trillion yen (about 37 trillion won) for manufacturing facilities and operations.
“NVIDIA to build a branch office in Taiwan that is the size of Silicon Valley headquarters”
Taiwan’s Shang-Shang Shi Bao reported on the 23rd that “Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, is focusing on making Taipei, Taiwan the headquarters of its overseas branches in order to keep his promise to create a headquarters for the company’s Taiwanese employees.”
CEO Huang, who is Taiwanese-American, visited Taiwan in June to attend Computex, Asia’s largest information technology (IT) exhibition, and said, “We will build a large-scale research and development (R&D) and design center in Taiwan within the next five years and hire at least 1,000 engineers,” adding, “We are currently looking for a large site to build the center.”
“Electric cars will outsell internal combustion engine vehicles in the new year”
The British economic daily Financial Times (FT) reported on the 26th (local time) that there is a forecast that electric vehicles (EVs) will outsell internal combustion engine vehicles for the first time ever in China in the new year.
According to investment banks (IB) UBS and HSBC and market research firms Morningstar and Wood Mackenzie, sales of electric vehicles, including hybrids, are expected to increase by 29% this year to 12 million units in China in the new year. Sales of internal combustion engine vehicles in China in the new year are estimated to be less than 11 million units, down 10% from this year.
CATL in China unveils electric vehicle platform…’Unaffected by 120km/h collision’
According to Reuters on the 24th (local time), CATL unveiled the ‘Fanxi’, a skateboard-type electric vehicle platform, in Shanghai, China.
Ni Jun, CATL’s chief manufacturing officer, emphasized that the vehicle was developed with a focus on safety, saying, “It has excellent performance that can withstand a 120 km/h head-on collision without fire or explosion.”
The current commonly used Chinese crash safety assessment program, C-NCAP, has a frontal impact safety test speed of 56 km/h. In the case of a 56 km/h frontal impact, it is equivalent to falling from a 12-meter building at 120 km/h.
Toyota to build electric car factory in Shanghai, China
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on the 24th that Toyota is coordinating with Chinese authorities to build a new electric vehicle factory.
Toyota has decided to build a new plant solely on its own, rather than through a joint venture with a Chinese company. The goal is to have it up and running in 2027.
Nikkei analyzed that as foreign automakers are being pushed out by local Chinese companies and withdrawing one after another, the Chinese government, which is trying to attract foreign capital, and Toyota, which wants to operate the factory on its own, have found common ground. If Toyota’s factory construction plan is approved, it will be the second foreign auto factory in which it has invested solely, following Tesla in the United States.
HD Hyundai Infracore Expands Engine and Battery Businesses… Invests 116.8 Billion Won in Gunsan
HD Hyundai Infracore is investing 116.8 billion won in Gunsan to diversify its engine business portfolio and take the lead in the electrification market.
HD Hyundai Infracore announced on the 26th that it signed an ‘Investment Agreement (MOU) for the Establishment of Engine and Battery Pack Manufacturing Facilities’ with Jeollabuk-do, Gunsan City, and Korea Industrial Complex Corporation at the Jeollabuk-do Special Self-Governing Province Office.
Under this agreement, HD Hyundai Infracore plans to build a defense and ultra-large power generation engine production plant and a battery packaging plant on a 19,000 pyeong (62,700 m2) site within its Gunsan plant by the end of 2027.
Foxconn to Invest $120 Billion in Building Electric Vehicle Battery Factory in China
Taiwan’s Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry), Apple’s largest contract supplier, is investing 600 million yuan (about 120 billion won) in building a new electric vehicle battery factory in Zhengzhou, China.
According to a report by the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 25th, Foxconn announced its long-term investment plan for ‘Foxconn New Energy Battery (Zhengzhou)’ through a disclosure on the Taiwan Stock Exchange the previous day.
‘Foxconn New Energy Battery’ is a battery subsidiary established by Foxconn in October of last year. Foxconn operates the world’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province in central China.
Mintech signs contract to supply battery inspection equipment worth a total of 7.3 billion won
Mintech announced on the 26th that it signed a contract with the Ministry of Environment worth 5.423 billion won and Gyeongnam Technopark worth 1.89 billion won to supply battery inspection and diagnostic equipment and used battery pack processing equipment. The total amount of the three contracts is 7.313 billion won, which is 41.7% of last year’s sales.
The company explained that it was selected as a supplier for the ‘Electric Vehicle Used Battery Resource Circulation Cluster Reuse Demonstration Test Equipment Purchase and Installation’ project hosted by the Ministry of Environment and the ‘Reused Battery Module Diagnostic Evaluation System’ and ‘Reused Battery Pack Automatic Loading System’ projects hosted by Gyeongnam Technopark. All three contracts will be supplied within 2025.
Pino, L&F and Precursor 4th Supply Contract Signed “4th Quarter Contract Recorded at 11 Billion”
Secondary battery material company Pino announced on the 2nd that it had successfully signed an additional precursor supply contract with L&F, a leading domestic cathode material manufacturer.
Pino announced on this day that it had signed a supply contract worth 4.2 billion won (2.94 million dollars) with L&F for precursors, a key material for cathode materials. With this supply contract, it has recorded a total of 4 contracts with L&F in the fourth quarter alone, with a contract amount of 11 billion won.
The two companies signed a business agreement (MOU) for the supply of nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NCM) precursors in September. The total supply volume is expected to be approximately 60,000 tons by 2028, and the supply volume is expected to increase in earnest starting next year.
Inavi Systems and KG Mobility Sign MOU for Autonomous Driving Technology Development
Thinkware (084730) announced on the 27th that its mobility platform subsidiary, Inavi Systems, signed a business agreement (MOU) for technology development cooperation with KG Mobility and autonomous driving specialists.
Accordingly, iNavi Systems is providing its autonomous driving integrated map and ADASIS v3 protocol-based transmission technology, iNavi Level 2 Plus Solution, for the purpose of enhancing KG Mobility’s ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) technology, ‘Deep Control’.
KG Mobility’s ‘Deep Control’ is a system that provides convenience and safety to drivers by supporting simultaneous control of the vehicle’s acceleration/deceleration, steering, etc.
PonyLink Obtains Temporary Permit for Autonomous Driving from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
PonyLink announced on the 26th that it had obtained a temporary permit to operate autonomous vehicles from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
PonyLink passed the autonomous driving safety performance evaluation conducted at the Autonomous Driving Experimental City (K-City) of the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute, an affiliate of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, an organization under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, in November last year.
PonyLink is working closely with Pony.AI, which possesses the world’s top level 4 (highly automated) autonomous driving technology, to promote new autonomous driving businesses. Pony.AI operates an unmanned autonomous taxi business in China and was recently listed on the NASDAQ stock market in the United States in recognition of its technological prowess and business viability.
China’s Xiaopeng to Equip New Year’s Cars with ‘Fully Unmanned’ Autonomous Driving Functions
According to Chinese media outlet 36kr on the 26th, Li Liyun, head of the intelligent driving division of China’s Xiaopeng, said, “Starting from the new year, all of Xiaopeng’s ‘Max’ version vehicles can gradually be equipped with unmanned driving-level performance.”
This suggests that autonomous driving technology that does not require driver intervention will be installed.
According to Li, Xiaopeng’s own ‘AI Hawkeye’-based pure vision solution can achieve better visual effects than the human eye even under complex lighting conditions. It can also cope with light differences and backlighting.
“Meta, Ray-Ban Smart Glasses to Equip with Display Function”
According to the Financial Times on the 26th, Meta will be partnering with EssilorLuxottica, the manufacturer of Ray-Ban, to equip Ray-Ban Meta glasses with a display function.
According to the outlet, the Ray-Ban smart glasses being developed will display simple text and images, allowing users to receive service notifications and responses from a meta-artificial intelligence (AI) assistant.
“The second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses, launched in September 2023, have proven popular with consumers,” said Francesco Milleri, CEO of EssilorLuxottica. “In just a few months, sales of the second-generation products have surpassed cumulative sales of the first-generation products.”
Continental unveils ‘Emotional Cockpit’ for the first time at CES
Continental announced on the 26th that it will present for the first time the ‘Emotional Cockpit’ that maximizes connectivity between the car and the driver at CES 2025 to be held in Las Vegas in January.
The cockpit combines Swarovski’s unique design elements with the latest display technology and supports AI assistants and interactive widgets.
The Emotional Cockpit is a design that organically integrates two displays covered in Swarovski crystals. It creates a visual effect that seems to float in the air in the center of the dashboard. The 12.3-inch TFT display is located under the transparent crystal surface and features full-array local dimming technology to precisely control the backlight, enabling extremely bright screens and deep darkness. It is also ergonomically designed to support intuitive information display and input.
Source: kipost.net