Leading mobility supplier, DENSO has reiterated how semiconductors help lay the foundation in pursuing the company's two great causes – ‘Green’, achieving carbon neutrality by 2035, and ‘Peace of Mind’, creating a safe and seamless world for all.
The company said this during a business briefing it hosted to share its semiconductor strategy and how the company is achieving its Long-term Policy 2030.
With new vehicles and mobility technologies becoming increasingly reliant on semiconductors, the automotive industry needs them to unlock new capabilities, especially in electrification and autonomous driving areas.
Yoshifumi Kato, Senior Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer, DENSO Corporation said, “It is important we make the most of existing semiconductor supplies, while also creating our own rugged chips to meet growing demand.”
Three Core Areas
DENSO has divided semiconductor activities into three areas, each with its own strategy for stable procurement and development, Kato said. These three areas include Strategies for Microcomputer & System on Chip (SoC); Strategies for Power and Analogue Semiconductors, and Strategies for sensors.
As part of strategies for microcomputer & System on Chip (SoC), DENSO will work to strategically present specifications from an in-vehicle perspective, promote standardisation, secure multiple production bases, and reform its procurement structure.
Under its strategies for power and analogue semiconductors, DENSO will develop and manufacture devices & wafers and manufacturing processes in-house to maximise system competitiveness.
In high voltage power semiconductors, DENSO said it is working to produce large-diameter silicon wafers with strategic partners and to fully launch silicon carbide wafers, which will contribute to improving the electric cost for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).
In analogue semiconductors, the company will accelerate the development of rugged semiconductors that can withstand the performance of in-vehicle environments and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC).
As part of DENSO’s strategies for sensors, DENSO will apply technologies in the non-vehicle domain to the automotive domain through collaboration with strategic partners. The company will accelerate collaboration with strategic partners by anticipating rapidly changing technology trends and communicating in-vehicle trends to strategic partners, DENSO said in a release.
The company is also committed to further strengthen its semiconductor planning capabilities – which will be necessary for future mobility – and its technological capabilities to maximise sensor performance.
Plans By 2025
By 2025, the company intends to standardise microcomputers, close the gap between the automotive and semiconductor industries, and make the supply chain more robust. By the same time, the company aims to achieve sales equivalent to ¥ 500 billion as in-house manufactured semiconductors. Further, DENSO is aiming to develop compact, high-performance environmental recognition sensors with advanced driver assistance functions of Level 3 or higher by 2025.