Kolon Industries Expands Next-Generation Electronic Material mPPO Business for AI Semiconductors
Kolon Industries is starting to supply next-generation electronic materials used in future technologies such as ultra-high-speed communications and artificial intelligence (AI).
Kolon Industries announced on the 27th that it will invest approximately KRW 34 billion to build a new production facility for modified polyphenylene oxide (mPPO), a next-generation copper-clad laminate (CCL) material, at its Gimcheon 2 plant, with the goal of completion in the second quarter of next year.
CCL is a core component of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and plays a role in blocking electrical signals. mPPO is a high value-added material with the highest level of energy-saving performance, and its electrical blocking ability is approximately 3 to 5 times better than that of epoxy resin for the same purpose.
Japan introduces cyber defense guidelines for semiconductor factories
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 27th, the Japanese government is preparing guidelines for responding to cyber attacks on semiconductor factories, including clarifying security organizations and those responsible, establishing systems for emergency response and business continuity, and controlling entry and exit and restricting physical access.
All semiconductor manufacturers producing within Japan are targeted, including the Kumamoto plant of Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, and Rapidus, which is promoting domestic production of advanced semiconductors.
This is because semiconductor factories are large in size and have a high proportion of equipment that uses general-purpose operating systems (OS), making them vulnerable to hacking risks.
Micron’s Surprising Performance… ‘Semiconductor Time’ Returns
On the 25th (local time), Micron announced that it recorded sales of $9.3 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $1.91 in the third quarter of its fiscal year. This figure far exceeds the $8.87 billion and $1.60 expected by market research firm LSEG.
In particular, DRAM sales surged 51% year-on-year to $7.1 billion, accounting for 76% of total sales. This was thanks to data center sales more than doubling due to the surge in demand for HBM driven by the AI craze.
LG Innotek Succeeds in Developing Next-Generation Mobile Semiconductor Substrate Technology ‘Copper Post’
LG Innotek announced on the 25th that it has developed the world’s first ‘Copper Post (Cu-Post) technology’ applied to high value-added semiconductor substrates for mobile devices and successfully applied it to mass-produced products.
As major smartphone manufacturers enter the slimming race, minimizing the size of smartphone components is becoming a hot topic in the industry. Accordingly, demand for technology that can enhance the performance of mobile semiconductor substrates such as RF-SiP (Radio Frequency-system in Package) substrates while minimizing their size is rapidly increasing.
SKT to Use Rebellion AI Semiconductor for Adot Call Summary
SK Telecom announced on the 25th that it will apply Rebellion’s neural processing unit (NPU) to major artificial intelligence (AI) services such as ‘Adot Phone Call Summary’. SK Telecom and Rebellion are testing servers equipped with ‘ATOM, AI semiconductor for data centers’ on ▲Adot Phone Call Summary ▲PASS Spam Filtering ▲PASS Financial Secretary ▲Excalibur, etc.
Based on the test results, we plan to commercially apply ‘ATOM Max (AI semiconductor for large-scale AI inference),’ a performance-enhanced version of ATOM, to these services within the year.
In addition, SK Telecom plans to continuously expand the introduction of Rebellion NPU servers in the future based on the test results.
SK Hynix to build 7th semiconductor post-processing facility in Cheongju
SK Hynix recently announced on its internal bulletin board that it plans to demolish a building on the site of LG’s second factory in Cheongju that it had previously purchased in order to build a ‘P&T (Package & Test) 7’ facility. Demolition is scheduled to be completed in September.
SK Hynix’s P&T facilities, which are responsible for semiconductor post-processing, are currently located in Icheon and Cheongju, and this is the 7th.
The start date and specific purpose of the new post-processing facility have not yet been determined, but it is said that it is likely to be used as a test fab. SK Hynix plans to use this as a basis to strengthen its competitiveness in semiconductor post-processing.
Security fabless ICTK enters automotive image sensor sector
ICTK, a next-generation security fabless company, announced on the 24th that it has signed a security IP license supply agreement with Pixelplus, an image sensor specialist company.
Pixelplus is a fabless company that focuses on developing CMOS image sensors and image signal processing chips. It provides high-performance imaging solutions to the automotive, security, smart home, medical, and industrial markets.
Through this agreement, Pixelplus plans to further strengthen its autonomous driving and image processing security technologies by incorporating ICTK’s security IP into its vehicle image sensor products.
Xiaomi: “First SUV orders reached 300,000 units in 1 hour”
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has announced that it has received about 300,000 pre-orders for its first electric sports utility vehicle (SUV), the YU7, within an hour of its launch.
Xiaomi announced that it received over 50,000 orders in just 27 minutes when it released its first electric vehicle, the SU7 (Speed Ultra 7, Chinese name).
Xiaomi’s new YU7 electric SUV is said to be cheaper than the Tesla Model Y but has better performance. Tesla is expected to cut prices as its market share in China declines, Reuters reported.
SK Signet and EVSIS win contract for Ministry of Environment’s electric vehicle rapid charger project
SK Signet, Evesys and other companies announced on the 26th that they had won a bid for the ‘2025 Electric Vehicle Public Rapid Charger Manufacturing and Installation’ project, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment and organized by the Environmental Corporation.
This project is divided into three regions. Approximately 20 billion won has been allocated for each region. Region 1 is the metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi) and Gangwon region, Region 2 is the Chungcheong region and Jeolla region, and Region 3 is the Gyeongsang region and Jeju region.
Through this order, SK Signet will install 125 200kW rapid chargers and 180 100kW rapid chargers, for a total of 305 rapid chargers. The installation areas will be Gyeongsang Province (Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk) and Jeju Province. Evesys plans to supply and install 100kW and 200kW rapid chargers in a total of 430 parking spaces selected in Region 1 (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon).
China’s CATL to launch 8 trillion electric vehicle battery project in Indonesia
Antara News Agency reported on the 26th (local time) that Indonesia is embarking on a $6 billion (approximately KRW 8.2 trillion) electric vehicle battery project with China’s CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery company.
According to reports, Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia met with reporters the previous day and said that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the integrated electric vehicle battery project in Halmahera, eastern North Maluku province, on the 29th.
Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer and producer, dreams of becoming a global electric vehicle battery powerhouse based on nickel.
HiVision System Receives New Order for 9 Billion Won Battery Pack Assembly Production Line
HiVision Systems announced on the 26th that it signed a new contract for an energy storage system (ESS) battery pack assembly production line worth approximately 9 billion won with Nanjing Zhongshan Battery Electronics Co., Ltd., a Chinese subsidiary of Peopleworks, in relation to its new secondary battery equipment business.
ESS is a power storage device that stores energy produced from various power generation facilities, including eco-friendly power generation, in large quantities so that it can be used whenever needed. It is a business field that has recently been in the spotlight due to the continuous increase in global power demand.
The newly ordered ESS battery pack assembly production line will be installed at a customer site in the Nanjing area of China, and the ESS battery packs produced through the facility will ultimately be delivered to a large domestic secondary battery company.
‘Cobalt Shock’ Surges 40% This Year
The price of cobalt, an essential industrial raw material for electric car batteries, has risen by nearly 40% this year. This is because the Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s largest cobalt producer, has restricted exports. Recently, there have been criticisms that the global raw material supply chain is once again being shaken by the spread of resource nationalism, just like China’s rare earth minerals.
According to Trading Economics on the 27th, the price of cobalt was traded at $33,335 per ton the previous day. It is up 37.18% from the beginning of the year (January 1). The recent price fluctuation of cobalt is largely influenced by the Congolese government policy. On the 22nd, Congo’s Strategic Minerals Regulatory Agency (ARECOMS) announced that it would extend the ban on cobalt exports for three months.
DS Danseok, Chinese LFP battery company Narada to cooperate in ESS business
Global resource recycling company DS Danseok (CEO Seung-wook Han and Jong-wan Kim) announced on the 23rd that it signed a business agreement (MOU) with Narada, a Chinese lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell and ESS production company, for manufacturing and sales cooperation related to energy storage systems (ESS).
This MOU focuses on cooperation in the manufacturing and sales of domestic and international ESS modules, racks, and container systems, as well as joint technology development for component materials.
In addition, the two companies promised to exchange information on domestic and overseas LFP cells, modules, packs, ESS systems, and recycling, and to cooperate in the long term to establish a domestic cell manufacturing base in Korea. DS Danseok also plans to establish a LFP ESS manufacturing base in Korea.
Samki Energy Solutions Receives FFC Cable Order from LG Energy Solutions
Samgi Energy Solutions, a specialized automotive and battery parts company, announced on the 27th that it has signed an additional contract with LG Energy Solution to supply FFC (flexible flat cable).
According to the company, this contract is an additional order following the contract for the supply of BMS (battery management system) cables for ESS (energy storage systems) (total value of 30 billion won) signed in April.
The FFC ordered this time is thinner, lighter, and more flexible than regular wires, and has the advantage of being applicable to spaces where wire harnesses are difficult to use due to design issues. In particular, the company explained that this product is evaluated as the optimal solution for environments where the internal space of a battery module is limited.
Uber to re-enter self-driving car market… Discussing investment in acquisition of Chinese Pony US corporation
The New York Times reported on the 26th (local time) that ride-sharing company Uber is considering investing in self-driving cars and is negotiating with former CEO Travis Kalanick, who was ousted from the company eight years ago, to do so.
Kalanick, who was ousted from his CEO position in 2017 due to an internal sexual harassment controversy, is currently seeking investors to acquire the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese self-driving car company Pony.ai (Pony), and Uber is reportedly discussing providing financial support.
The sources said negotiations are still preliminary and that Kalanick would run Pony if the deal goes through, although it is not yet clear what role Uber will play in Pony as an investor.
Tesla’s autonomous ‘robotaxi’ fare is 5,800 won
Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’, the first commercial self-driving taxi, began test operations on the 22nd (local time).
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, wrote on his social networking service (SNS) X (formerly Twitter) that day, “We are starting a robotaxi service in Austin,” and “The fare will be $4.20 (about 5,800 won).”
According to Tesla, about 10 vehicles were deployed that day to provide robotaxi service to a small number of social media (SNS) influencers in a limited area.
Waymo, Uber to launch service in Atlanta
Uber Technologies and Alphabet’s Waymo jointly launched a self-driving ride-hailing service in Atlanta on the 24th (local time). Waymo has been operating a self-driving ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, since March.
The two companies plan to offer Waymo self-driving cars on the Uber app, providing a service covering 168 square kilometers in Atlanta.
Uber currently has 100 Waymo vehicles on its platform in Austin, with dozens more coming to Atlanta. Uber said last year it would start managing and operating a fully autonomous Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicle, and that it would grow to hundreds of vehicles in the future.
BOE Secures Capacity to Produce 100 Million OLED Units Per Year for iPhones
According to the ‘China Display Trend Report’ released by display market research firm UBI Research on the 27th, BOE has built an annual production capacity of 100 million OLED panels for iPhones, centered around the B11 line.
BOE currently has 26 module lines dedicated to Apple. Of these, 11 lines are in mass production, and 3 lines are understood to be module lines dedicated to development. BOE has shortened the product assembly time to 5.5 seconds and has the capacity to produce 350,000 units per line, or about 8 million units per month, for iPhone modules.
Samsung Electronics falls to 4th place in mini LED TV
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research on the 25th, Samsung Electronics ranked 4th in sales and 3rd in revenue in the global Mini LED TV market in the first quarter of this year. Samsung, which led this market until 2023, has plummeted in its rankings in just over a year, being overtaken by Chinese TV companies TCL, Hisense, and Xiaomi in succession last year. Mini LED TVs are premium products that improve brightness and contrast ratio by installing thousands of LED backlights that are smaller than the light sources in existing LCD TVs.
Even when looking at the entire premium TV market, Samsung’s decline is clear. In the first quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics’ share of the global premium TV market (based on sales) plummeted 11 percentage points (P) from 39% a year ago to 28%. LG Electronics also fell from 23% to 16% during the same period.
Source: kipost.net