Senko prepares to supply gas detectors to Huawei and SMIC semiconductor fabs
Senko announced on the 2nd that it will begin product evaluation after completing factory screening to supply gas alarms to the semiconductor fabs of Huawei, a communications equipment and smartphone manufacturer in China, and SMIC, a foundry company.
A formal PO (Purchase Order) has been received for samples for product evaluation, and the samples are scheduled to be installed in 12 semiconductor fabs owned by China’s Huawei and SMIC, China’s largest foundry company. Senko began discussing product supply in 2023, leaving only the final field evaluation gate.
Gas alarms are essential in semiconductor fabs. Dozens of industrial gases are used in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and most industrial gases are toxic. Industrial gases can cause serious casualties when leaked, so gas alarms must be installed in semiconductor fabs.
Samsung launches ‘3D packaging’ that stacks chips vertically in the second quarter

Samsung Electronics will launch a ‘3D packaging’ service in the second quarter that stacks different high-performance chips vertically. When chips are packaged vertically, data processing between semiconductors is faster and power efficiency is higher than when placed horizontally. Through this, it is analyzed for the purpose of responding to the demand of customers who want to produce high-performance, low-power artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.
Samsung Electronics announced at a conference call (performance briefing) held on the 30th of last month, “We will prepare a 4nm foundry process that can apply 3D packaging (3D IC) in the second quarter of this year.” Packaging is the process of connecting different chips to make them function as one chip. Among these, 3D packaging is characterized by stacking chips vertically, unlike general packaging, which arranges chips horizontally.
Naver, Intel, KAIST create joint AI research center
A joint Naver, Intel, and KAIST artificial intelligence (AI) research center will be established at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon.
On the 30th, KAIST signed a business agreement at its headquarters in Daejeon, with KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won attending, with the main content being the establishment and operation of the ‘NAVER-intel-KAIST AI Joint Research Center’ (NIK AI Research Center). .
We plan to establish a joint research center in the first half of this year and begin full-scale research in July. KAIST is the first time that Intel, a global semiconductor company, has established and supported a joint research center at a domestic university to develop a software platform used in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.
Taiwan’s TSMC postpones 1.4 nano factory site development… “Internal speed control”
Taiwanese media, including Yonhap Newspaper and China Times, reported on the 30th that Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest foundry (semiconductor consignment production) company, has postponed site development for a state-of-the-art 1.4nm (nanometer, one billionth of a meter) factory scheduled to be built in Taichung, central Taiwan. .
The Central Science Complex Management Bureau announced the previous day that the plan to provide land so that construction of related factories could begin in June was postponed to December, half a year later than scheduled.
Xu Zhengzhong, deputy director of the bureau, said the construction speed of the state-of-the-art 2-nano factory in southern Kaohsiung was faster than the planned development of the 1.4nm factory in Taichung, and an agreement was reached within TSMC to “control the pace.” There was no mention of the specific meaning or background of ‘speed control’.
Hanul Material Science begins development of 6G ultra-precision transmission network… Selected as a national project worth 14.5 billion won
Hanul Materials Science, a communications equipment and semiconductor materials company, will begin developing ultra-precision transmission network system technology of tens of terabytes (TB) to support 6th generation (6G) mobile communications.
Hanul Material Science was selected as a national project for the 14.5 billion won 6G development project hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT. We will develop next-generation network equipment that can expand service coverage by 2028 through joint research with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) of Korea and the Chungbuk National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation.
This development focuses on providing larger capacity and faster transmission speeds to accommodate explosive traffic to expand 6G service capacity and coverage.
YC Chem EUV PR rinse begins mass production testing on semiconductor line
YC Chem, a semiconductor process materials development company, announced on the 29th that it has begun evaluating mass production lines for global customers of its self-developed rinse product for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure process.
According to YCchem, Rinse for EUV PR has been undergoing testing at the mass production line of a global semiconductor customer company starting this month. If the mass production test evaluation passes, full-scale mass production and supply is expected to be possible as early as the second half of this year.
YC Chem’s Extreme Ultraviolet Photoresist Rinse (EUV PR Rinse) is used after photoresist application in the semiconductor EUV exposure process. It prevents pattern combination or collapse of the semiconductor caused by the short light source wavelength in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) process and improves resolution. It plays a role in improving roughness, sensitivity, etc.
“U.S. provides IRA subsidy for 2 years for electric vehicles using Chinese graphite”… I think we will accept Korea’s request.

As requested by the automobile and battery industries, the U.S. government is expected to provide subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) even if Chinese graphite is used in electric vehicle batteries for the time being.
According to a report by U.S. political media outlet Politico on the 30th of last month, the Biden administration plans to announce the final regulations related to IRA’s electric vehicle tax credit on the 3rd (local time), and the regulations include a suspension of the ban on Chinese graphite.
According to POLITICO, the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Energy plan to classify graphite as a non-traceable battery material in the final regulations and postpone the application of related regulations until 2027 so that it can receive subsidies even if it is procured from FEOC. Instead, automakers must present a supply chain transformation plan during a two-year grace period to avoid continued reliance on FEOC.
EcoPro, 1Q sales decreased by 50% and ‘turned into deficit’… Impact of electric vehicle ‘Chasm’
Due to the slowdown in the growth of the electric vehicle market, which EcoPro is a major downstream industry, sales in the first quarter of this year decreased by about half compared to the same period last year, and operating profit turned into a deficit.
EcoPro recorded consolidated sales of 1.0206 trillion won, operating loss of 29.8 billion won, and net loss of 42.5 billion won in the first quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales decreased by 50.6% and turned into a loss in terms of operating profit and net profit.
Compared to the previous quarter, sales decreased by 20%. The size of operating loss was calculated to be KRW 29.8 billion, a decrease from KRW 119.4 billion in the fourth quarter of last year as part of the allowance for valuation losses on inventory assets was reversed.
Despite concerns over electric vehicle ‘peak-out’, LS E-Link listed ‘Pedal’
LS Group’s electric vehicle charging station subsidiary, LS E-Link, has achieved a surplus two years after its establishment and is entering the full-fledged initial public offering (IPO) process. We plan to submit a preliminary listing review application to the Korea Exchange within the first half of the year. The goal is to reach a market capitalization of 800 billion won.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 30th, LS E-Link recorded sales of 27.7 billion won and net profit of 2.3 billion won last year. LS E-Link is a company established in 2022 by LS and its affiliate E1, jointly investing 31 billion won each. After successfully turning a profit within two years of establishment, the company is in the process of being listed. In 2022, it recorded a net loss of 800 million won.
LS E-Link is LS Group’s second initial public offering (IPO) after LS Materials in December last year. LS Group is preparing for the listing of two to three subsidiaries following the successful listing of LS Materials. LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun also said at ‘Interbattery 2024’ held at COEX last month, “We are pursuing the listing of LS E-Link within the year.”
Ninetech issues convertible bonds worth 10 billion won… All-solid-state battery development begins in earnest
Ninetech, a company specializing in secondary battery and IT materials, components and equipment, announced on the 3rd that it has decided to issue convertible bonds (CB) worth 10 billion won for the development of secondary battery materials and all-solid-state equipment.
With the funds raised through the issuance of convertible bonds, Ninetech is developing various secondary battery materials based on MXene, a two-dimensional nanomaterial called the ‘new dream material’, and developing solid-state batteries, which are expected to be a ‘game changer’ in the battery industry. We plan to use it to develop equipment for battery manufacturing. Using this funding as a stepping stone, the company plans to accelerate the development and commercialization of new technology.
Mintech designated as reusable battery safety inspection agency
MinTech announced on the 2nd that it was designated as a reusable battery safety inspection agency by the National Agency for Technology and Standards last month.
When reusing a battery for another purpose after using an electric vehicle, the reusable battery safety inspection agency verifies the safety and performance, determines suitability, and issues a certificate.
In preparation for revitalizing the market for reuse of used batteries, the government established and announced detailed standards through a notice from the National Agency for Technology and Standards in October last year. According to these standards, qualified institutions or companies are designated as reusable battery safety inspection organizations after screening, and a system has been established to ensure that when batteries are reused after use, they must be certified by the safety inspection organization before selling and distributing them.
IL Science applies for a patent for new technology to increase lithium-ion battery life and performance
IL Science, a company specializing in smart optical solutions, announced on the 3rd that it has applied for a patent on ‘lithium dendrite suppression method and effect using lithium transition metal oxide’. The patent applied by IL Science this time is a technology that suppresses the formation of dendrites or reduces the frequency of their formation unevenly by coating lithium transition metal oxide on the surface of the copper current collector, which is the negative electrode current collector in contact with the lithium metal negative electrode.
An IL Science official said, “If dendrites, called dendrites, grow too large, they pierce the separator that separates the anode and cathode, causing an internal short circuit and the current flowing across the battery increases rapidly, which can cause a fire.”
Powernet supplies ESS LFP battery packs to Morocco
According to Powernet on the 3rd, it shipped the first batch of ESS LFP battery packs to participate in the ‘Smart Multi-Microgrid R&D Capacity Building Demonstration Project’ hosted by the Moroccan government together with China’s CEL.
The ESS battery packs supplied by Powernet this time are part of the Korean government’s official development assistance (ODA) project, and two units of 215KWH will be installed in the Dratapilalt region of Morocco in connection with MASEN (Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy), a large-scale renewable energy supplier in Morocco. It is scheduled to be installed in the Ouarzazate region.
Hyundai Motor Group participates in paid-in capital increase for Motional, a U.S. autonomous driving joint venture
Hyundai Motor Group announced on the 3rd that it decided to participate in the paid-in capital increase of Motional, an American self-driving joint venture, and to purchase a portion of the shares held by its partner Aptiv. As a result, Hyundai Motor Group’s share of Motional’s autonomous driving business has increased.
Motional is an autonomous driving joint venture established by Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv in 2020, and is also the company that launched the IONIQ 5-based unmanned robotaxi business in the United States with Uber and Lyft at the end of last year.
Hyundai Motor Group explained that it made this decision because it believed that it was necessary to secure stable management rights over Motional in order to proactively develop autonomous driving technology and internalize core technologies.
Tesla passes Chinese data safety inspection

Chinese authorities judged Tesla as ‘compliant’ for the first time as a foreign company in a data safety inspection.
Accordingly, the possibility of introducing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China has increased.
According to Chinese media outlets such as Cheil Finance on the 28th, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Computer Network Emergency Technology Processing Cooperation Center announced on the same day that the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory It was announced that all models produced (Model 3 and Model Y) passed the inspection.
The four requirements set by the Chinese authorities are ▲ anonymization of facial information outside the vehicle, ▲ non-collection of driver’s seat data, ▲ in-vehicle processing of driver’s seat data, and ▲ notification of personal information processing.
Hanwha Robotics joins hands with Baemin serving robot operator for store automation
Hanwha Robotics announced on the 3rd that it signed a ‘business agreement for automation solutions in the restaurant industry’ with Be-Robotics, a Woowa Brothers subsidiary and Baedal Minjok serving robot operator. This business agreement was prepared to promote automated stores in the restaurant business.
The main contents of the agreement include sharing sales information, configuring integrated robot products, and mutual support for field testing, and Hanwha Robotics’ collaborative robot and B-Robotics’ serving robot will be deployed for this purpose.
Jusung splits display and solar energy divisions

On the 2nd, Jusung Engineering announced that it would pursue human and material division for independent and responsible management of each business division. Jusung Engineering (tentative name), newly established through spin-off, specializes in semiconductor technology development and manufacturing business. We plan to increase our position as a global semiconductor equipment company, and the surviving company will focus on strengthening the competitiveness of its core business and investment expertise by increasing management efficiency.
In addition, Juseong SD (tentative name), an unlisted company established through physical division as a 100% subsidiary of the surviving company, will strengthen its identity as a company specializing in solar energy and display technology development and manufacturing business. We plan to focus on business growth and present a new paradigm in the global energy industry technology and display industry.
Samsung Display establishes ‘A Advanced Research Team’ dedicated to Apple
According to the industry on the 2nd, Samsung Display established a new ‘A Priority Research Team’ under the Giheung Research Institute in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do the previous day. It is said that it was named after the ‘A’ in ‘Apple’. The research team is expected to seek to expand the application of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) to Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.
Apple plans to install OLED for the first time in its iPad model to be released this month. Samsung Display has supplied a significant number of OLED panels for iPhone to Apple. It is known that OLED panels were also supplied to this iPad product.
LGD, iPad OLED shipment share 65% from February to May
Market research company DSCC announced on the 29th (local time) that LG Display’s market share is ahead of Samsung Display in shipments of the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) iPad panel that Apple is launching for the first time this year.
DSCC predicted that shipments of the 13-inch iPad OLED would exceed those of the 11-inch model OLED in May, continuing from February to April. The proportion of 13-inch models in iPad OLED shipments from February to May was estimated to be more than 60%.
During the same period, it was estimated that LG Display would lead the iPad OLED shipment share of the two domestic panel companies with 65%. This is the result of LG Display’s sole production of 13-inch model OLEDs and the addition of 11-inch model OLED volumes.
Source: kipost.net