Sunway Group accelerates Net Zero ambitions through partnership with Deeptech Labs

     * Partnership will commercialise and accelerate growth of net zero technologies     * Cambridge-based accelerator will facilitate entry of SEA startups into UK market
Sunway Group, one of Southeast Asia’s leading conglomerates, today announced a strategic partnership with Deeptech Labs, a venture capital fund and deeptech specific accelerator based in…Continue Reading

MYEG, Universiti Malaya add AI to ongoing collaborative research with China under G2G program

Leverage AI to further streamline & optimise the cross-border trade processes
One of 14 nations in program with Ministry of Science and Technology of China

MY E.G. Services Bhd, the developer of the public Layer-1 blockchain platform Zetrix, and Universiti Malaya (UM) yesterday announced the expansion of their research collaboration with China Academy of…Continue Reading

Tune Protect on finding the right key to cover woefully uninsured Malaysian SMEs

Aimed at micro SMEs, of whom 85% are underinsured or uninsured
Looking to disrupt the space of Gen Z and Millennials entrepreneurs

The insurance landscape for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia has been a challenging one, with a significant protection gap leaving many businesses underinsured or uninsured. Despite contributing 37.4% to the nation’s…Continue Reading

The US makes China an offer it can’t understand

Investment Strategy: Closing out MXN/KRW but holding onto oil and gold

David Woo writes that the People’s Bank of China surprised the market by cutting interest rates by 10 basis points, signaling a possible stimulus package and asserting China’s monetary policy independence from the US. Tensions in Ukraine, meanwhile, could benefit long oil and long gold positions due to potential escalation in the conflict.

The US makes China an offer it can’t understand

David Goldman and Uwe Parpart observe that while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned visit to China remains uncertain, tensions between the US and China continue as the US extends exemptions for South Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers to maintain fabrication plants in China, highlighting the difficulties of isolating China from high-tech goods.

Ukrainian Offensive Stumbles as Russian Defenses Hold Strong, Raising Questions for NATO Summit

James Davis assesses that the Ukrainian offensive against Russian forces is facing significant challenges due to a scattered approach and underestimation of Russian preparedness. Tension and uncertainty are rising as NATO debates security guarantees for Ukraine and Russian forces await an opportunity to launch their own counteroffensive.

The limits to sanctions on China

Scott Foster analyzes the limits of the U.S. government’s ability to interfere with semiconductor companies in China after indefinitely extending the exemption for top semiconductor manufacturers from South Korea and Taiwan. Others like investment fund Sequoia Capital are nonetheless taking measures to reduce political risk.

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Europe-China silicon carbide JV shuns US tech war

Europe’s STMicroelectronics and China’s Sanan Optoelectronics will form a joint venture (JV) in Chongqing,  a tech collaboration that promises to boost China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry while also underscoring the limits of US efforts to disrupt China’s semiconductor production.

On June 7, STMicroelectronics said that the JV will produce silicon carbide, or SiC, power devices using its proprietary manufacturing process on 200mm SiC substrates to be made in a separate dedicated facility to be built, owned and operated by Sanan Optoelectronics.

The two companies plan to start production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and reach maximum targeted capacity by 2028. In addition to automotive products, the JV will make power semiconductor devices for other industrial and energy applications such as solar and wind.

The JV’s total investment is expected to reach US$3.2 billion, including $2.4 billion in capital spending over the next five years. Contributions from the two companies will be augmented by loans and government support.

“The combination of Sanan Optoelectronics’ future 200mm substrate manufacturing facility with the front-end [wafer processing] JV and ST’s existing back-end [assembly and test] facility in Shenzhen, China, will enable ST to offer our Chinese customers a fully vertically integrated SiC value chain,” said STMicroelectronics CEO Jean-Marc Chery,

It will also provide China with a complete domestic supply chain for SiC power devices that are now critical for EV production.

Sanan Optoelectronics CEO Simon Lin added that “The establishment of this joint venture will be a major driving force for the wide adoption of SiC devices on the Chinese market… [It is also] an important step for Sanan Optoelectronics’ ambitions as a SiC foundry.”

STMicroelectronics is a French-Italian semiconductor producer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its product lines include analog, industrial and power conversion integrated circuits (ICs), dedicated automotive ICs, discrete and power transistors, micro-controller units and micro-processor units, micro-electro-mechanical systems, optical sensors and proprietary application-specific ICs.

Sanan Optoelectronics, headquartered in Xiamen, China, is mainly engaged in the research, development, production and sales of light-emitting diode (LED) products and semiconductors.

China’s Sanan Optoelectronics seeks an edge in the SiC business. Image: Twitter

Its semiconductor products include radio frequency (RF) chips for mobile phones and devices and mobile phone base stations, according to a Reuters company profile. The company is also involved in LED substrates, devices and lighting products; photodiodes; lasers for LiDAR and other applications; solar cells and power semiconductor wafers and devices.

Power semiconductors control the electricity used to run motors, power systems, lighting and other appliances by converting electric power from AC to DC and adjusting voltages to appropriate levels. Most power semiconductors are made of silicon but the use of SiC is increasing rapidly, including in EV motor and charging systems.

SiC devices are comparatively more energy efficient and reliable than silicon-based ones. They are also more expensive and more difficult to make, although prices are coming down as production volumes rise.

SiC’s advantages include resistance to higher voltages, tolerance of a wider range of temperatures and vibration, and longer device lifetimes. More information about power devices, SiC devices and SiC wafers can be found here.

French market research and consulting firm Yole Developpement estimated in 2022 that demand for SiC power devices would grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34% from 2021 to 2027, with automotive applications rising from 63% to 79% of the total.

According to Yole, STMicroelectronics is the world’s third-largest maker of discrete power semiconductors and modules after Infineon and Onsemi, and the largest maker of SiC power semiconductors. Estimates from Yole and other sources indicate that STMicroelectronics has around 50% of the SiC device market worldwide.

STMicroelectronics’ share of the SiC power device market share will most likely decline over time as competitors in Europe, the US, Japan and China ramp up production. This makes the firm’s new JV in China key to reaching its financial targets, CEO Chery says,

“It is an important step to further scale up our global SiC manufacturing operations, coming in addition to our continuing significant investments in Italy and Singapore,” Chery said. He said the JV is expected to help the company reach $5 billion-plus in SiC revenues by 2030.

For Sanan Optoelectronics, the JV is crucial to establish a lead over other Chinese companies working on SiC wafers and devices as part of the nation’s effort to strengthen its EV supply chain and reduce power consumption and carbon emissions.

On May 3, German power semiconductor maker Infineon announced that it had signed a long-term agreement with China’s TanKeBlue, which will supply it with SiC wafers and ingots.

According to Infineon, “The agreement between Infineon and TanKeBlue contributes to general supply chain stability, also with regard to the growing demand for SiC semiconductor products for automotive, solar and EV charging applications and energy storage systems in the Chinese market.”

Japanese SiC wafer and device maker Rohm, meanwhile, has formed partnerships with BASiC Semiconductor of Shenzhen to supply power modules and Nanjing SemiDrive Technology to develop and produce devices for vehicle cockpit applications.

An 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) wafer from STMicroelectronics. Image: ZF Press Center

In 2022, STMicroelectronics was the world’s 11th-largest semiconductor company in terms of revenue (excluding TSMC and other foundries), according to Gartner market research, and the largest in Europe with integrated device factories in Europe, Morocco, Southeast Asia and China.

In March 2023, SemiAnalysis reported that STMicroelectronics is moving quickly to speed up and improve SiC device quality via wafer-level burn-in testing.

In September 2021, industry research and news site SemiAnalysis judged that Sanan Optoelectronic’s claims regarding its SiC wafer manufacturing technology were not credible, but clearly STMicroelectronics views its new Chinese partner’s capacity and potential favorably.

Follow this writer on Twitter: @ScottFo83517667

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Sasana Symposium 2023: Malaysia's real-time payment system 'robust and reliable' and 'second to none', but not hitting max capacity

E-payment use in M’sia has surged to 291 transactions per capita, targeting 400 by 2026
Bank-fintech collaboration crucial, combining trust and security with fintech’s innovation

“What Malaysia has is the benefit of having a real-time payment system that is second to none.” Farhan Ahmad, Group CEO of PayNet who was speaking at the Sasana Symposium 2023 (SS2023)…Continue Reading

JLand Group and MSA Resources ink US$14.3mil MoU to expand dark fibre connectivity in Johor

MSAR will invest US$14.3 mil into the project
The local line will benefit areas surrounding STeP, said JLG

JLand Group (JLG), Johor Corporation’s real estate and infrastructure arm, has signed an MoU with MSA Resources (MSAR), a telecommunications infrastructure provider, to deploy Sedenak Tech Park’s (STeP) direct connection to the Digital Superhighway Network. The scope of…Continue Reading

Impact of AI on jobs: Substitution or displacement?

Brookings Institution notes every tech shift tends to create more jobs than it destroys
Pikom maps out four courses of action, including to equip workforce with AI-related skills

In this third column of The Sharp End, we have to address the launch of the natural language processing tool ChatGPT in November last year that has intensified the debate over…Continue Reading