| Policy / Trend | Re-energy | IT | Mobility | Technology / service | Finance |
July 09, 2021
General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center
New Electric Power Net Management Office
On May 19, Toyota Motor announced that it will suspend the operation of two factories in Japan due to a global shortage of semiconductors. It is said that the production of about 20,000 units will be affected. Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato stated that "semiconductors are also called industrial rice and are extremely important components of the foundation that support the economy and society," and that "the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will take appropriate measures such as supporting the procurement of alternative equipment." However, on the 31st, Intel CEO of the United States announced the view that "it will take a few more years to solve the semiconductor shortage." Then, this time, when and why such a situation of semiconductor shortage occurred, and what are the issues that emerged from it? Then, I would like to introduce Japan's efforts to overcome this and use it as a driving force for the realization of a carbon-free society and economic growth.
This time, I have listed three factors.
(1) In February, the in-vehicle semiconductor factory in the United States was shut down due to a cold wave. There was news that semiconductor factories in the state, such as Samsung Electronics, which were closed due to the cold wave, would need several weeks to resume production. He pointed out that the suspension of the factory would affect automakers five months later. On the other hand, it was said that "the impact will be almost immediate, because semiconductor inventories are low and customers need them as soon as possible." Samsung supplies semiconductors to major electric vehicle (EV) Tesla and others. NXP and Infineon are also semiconductor suppliers for automobiles. Tesla will stop production at its Fremont, California plant for two days. On March 26, China's emerging EV maker NIO suspended production at its plant in Hefei City, Anhui Province, for five days due to a shortage of semiconductors.
(2) March A factory fire broke out at a major semiconductor company, Renesas Electronics, and the factory was shut down. Due to this effect, it was expected that it would take several months for shipments to return to their original levels. Since safety is the highest priority for in-vehicle semiconductors, it is said that the unit price is low despite the strict quality requirements. As the performance of semiconductor companies is sluggish and there is no room to continue investing huge amounts in factories, in-vehicle semiconductor companies such as Renesas have changed from their own production to Taiwan Microelectronics Corporation (TSMC) and Lianhua Electronics ( We have switched to outsourced production to UMC). However, Taiwan's main customers are electrical equipment manufacturers, which may not be a high priority for automobiles, which has spurred this semiconductor shortage. This time, at the request of the Japanese government, TSMC Taiwan, the world's largest contract manufacturer of semiconductors, is responding to an increase in production for Renesas.
(3) Demand for game consoles and home appliances has increased sharply due to the consumption of nests caused by Korona-ka. Also, due to the rapid digital innovation caused by the Korona-ka, the demand for electronic devices such as PCs used for work such as telework and online learning has increased sharply. For example, AMD's semiconductor chips used in Sony's PlayStation 5 are manufactured on a production facility using the Taiwan TSMC 7-nanometer process. This production process is used in a variety of technology products around the world and is competing because it's not just Sony's desire. TSMC is in a very strong position in the production of state-of-the-art logic circuit semiconductor chips. Only this situation is likely to continue in the future. It is said that even if the PlayStation 5 chip is improved, it will compete with all companies that require cutting-edge semiconductors, including smartphones such as Apple and Qualcomm, for limited production capacity.
Looking at these factors, it has become clear that semiconductor production is becoming more dependent on specific countries and regions. It is said that TSMC in Taiwan has 50% and Samsung has 18% in contract production sales worldwide. In response to this situation, major countries are fighting to attract semiconductor production bases with huge budgets in order to stabilize the supply network. In addition, it is said that the United States will provide support measures of 4 trillion yen and China will provide support measures of 10 trillion yen to strengthen R & D and manufacturing bases.
It turned out that Japan puts semiconductors as the most important in the outline of the government's growth strategy, which is scheduled to be decided by the Cabinet in June. Although the scale of the United States and China is inferior, Japan also has a fund totaling 200 billion yen as a support measure, which will be used for "concentrated investment". Of particular interest are next-generation power semiconductors that use new materials and advanced semiconductors with high energy-saving performance.
Specifically, such movements are also appearing. In March, Canon, Tokyo Electron, SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology announced that they would collaborate on the development of next-generation semiconductors. It means that it will build a cooperative system with overseas companies such as TSMC in Taiwan and Intel in the United States, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will also invest about 42 billion yen from the fund to support research and development.
In addition, in the latest news (as of May 31), the Japanese government has invited and TSMC of Taiwan has announced that it will establish a new research and development base in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and proceed with the development of cutting-edge semiconductors. The total project cost is about 37 billion yen, and the Japanese government plans to subsidize about half, 19 billion yen.
From here, I would like to see what kind of semiconductors are expected in the future and in what fields they will be used. Currently, silicon is widely used in semiconductors, but SiC (silicon carbide) and GaN (gallium nitride) are attracting attention as wide-gap semiconductors.
For example, SiC is a compound that replaces half of silicon with carbon. Due to the strong bond between carbon and silicon, it has a withstand voltage 10 times higher than that of conventional silicon devices and can withstand high temperatures exceeding 200 degrees. SiC devices are becoming more widespread in the high current and high withstand voltage range as a replacement for silicon IGBTs. Specifically, it is expected to spread in areas where there are great advantages in reducing the size and weight of systems, such as electric vehicles (EVs), power conditioners used in power generation systems, and HEMS in electric homes.
The government has set a goal of increasing the global share of next-generation power semiconductors using new materials used in electric vehicles (EVs) to 40% by 2030. To that end, we will set a period of concentrated capital investment until 2025, create a location plan for manufacturing bases for advanced semiconductors, attract overseas players with advanced technology, and envision joint research and development with Japanese companies. In addition, Ga2O3 (gallium oxide) is attracting increasing attention as the third next-generation power device material after SiC and GaN (gallium nitride).
It has been pointed out that the evolution of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the next-generation communication standard "5G" will increase the amount of processing of computers and significantly increase power consumption. It is necessary to promote the realization of a carbon-free society by 2050 and economic growth at the same time. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is embarking on support for private companies and universities that develop next-generation semiconductors with low power consumption. In semiconductor development, which lags behind major countries, we will give priority support to the development of materials that Japanese companies have strengths in, and aim to make a comeback in the development of energy-saving materials.
Targeting private companies aiming to put Ga2O3 (gallium oxide) into practical use, which is expected to be a material with low power consumption for semiconductors, the estimated request for FY2021 was set at 2.13 billion yen. We plan to provide support over the next five years.
As mentioned earlier, silicon is currently the mainstream for semiconductor materials, but according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, if silicon semiconductors are replaced with new materials, 14.4 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) can be reduced annually. There is a trial calculation with. Semiconductors using new materials are expected to be widely used in data centers, home appliances, and power supplies for base stations in 5th generation mobile communication systems (5G).
The development and production enhancement of such semiconductors are also related to the renewable energy field. For example, whether it is DC power such as solar power, or AC power such as wind power or hydropower, in order to return the generated power to the transmission line, the power must be converted to the frequency of the commercial power source. Semiconductors will be used here as well. It can be controlled accurately by using semiconductor electronics. If it cannot be controlled, the flow of power will become unstable, and in the worst case, a power outage will occur, so it plays a very important role.
In addition, by providing a supply capacity that exceeds the demand for electric power energy up to now, we have dealt with measures to prevent supply shortages such as power outages. However, this wastes surplus electricity and is one of the causes of high electricity prices. Therefore, it is important to be able to supply electricity according to the demand at the time, rather than increasing the supply capacity according to the peak demand. Semiconductors are used in that technology. As a result, we will be able to reduce costs and, in turn, improve Japan's international competitiveness.
Membership registration (free) is required to read this continuation.
Subsidy information
You can list subsidy information on renewable energy, energy saving, and storage batteries.
Price plan (including Excel)
You can download rate plan information from all over the country in Excel.
Bid information
You can list the bid information of electricity procured and sold by government agencies.
Power column
You can see all the columns about electricity
Press release posted
You can post a press release on electricity and energy.
Support for acquiring qualifications
We have an economic support system for acquiring qualifications such as 3 types of electric tests.
Join Free
Register now (free)Here are the members
Login Facebook Like Twitter Tweet Hatena Bookmark Share on Google+General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center
New Electric Power Net Management Office
EIC aims to help a stable supply of energy through activities related to (1) providing accurate information on energy in an objective and easy-to-understand manner, and (2) creating a new business that integrates ICT and energy. The operating organization of the newly established power net.
| Company / organization name | General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center |
|---|---|
| location | 2-9-22 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Tamagawa Shinjuku Building 3F |
| telephone number | 03-6411-0859 |
| Company HP | http://eic-jp.org/ |
| Services, media, etc. | https://www.facebook.com/eicjp https://twitter.com/EICNET |
General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center
August 10, 2021
New Electric Power Net Management Office
What is "ZEH", an energy-saving measure for housing, with a goal of reducing CO2 emissions in the household sector by 66%?
With the influence of Corona making telecommuting more routine, we may be more interested in more comfortable and economical homes. Under such circumstances, it became clear that the draft of the "Global Warming Countermeasure Plan" announced by the government on July 26 is considering reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 66% in the household sector. I did. In addition, on the 27th, it was announced by the Comprehensive Inspection Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the Task Force) regarding regulations on renewable energy, etc. that solar power generation equipment will be installed in about 60% of newly built detached houses. Therefore, this time, we will focus on "ZEH" as an energy-saving initiative in the household sector.
General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center
July 09, 2021
New Electric Power Net Management Office
Is "next-generation power semiconductors / advanced semiconductors" a keyword for Japan's decarbonization x growth strategy in the midst of a global semiconductor shortage?
On May 19, Toyota Motor announced that it will suspend the operation of two factories in Japan due to a global shortage of semiconductors. It is said that the production of about 20,000 units will be affected. Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato stated that "semiconductors are also called industrial rice and are extremely important components of the foundation that support the economy and society," and that "the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will take appropriate measures such as supporting the procurement of alternative equipment." However, on the 31st, Intel CEO of the United States announced the view that "it will take a few more years to solve the semiconductor shortage." Then, this time, when and why such a situation of semiconductor shortage occurred, and what are the issues that emerged from it? Then, I would like to introduce Japan's efforts to overcome this and use it as a driving force for the realization of a carbon-free society and economic growth.
General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center
April 11, 2021
New Electric Power Net Management Office
Consider the impact of digitization and CO2 emissions promoted by the new Corona
With the new coronavirus infection, the flow of digital transformation around the world has accelerated at a stretch. From one point of view, while digitization has a positive impact on the environment, one of the side effects of digitization is the impact on the environment. Facebook is building a data center "near the Arctic Circle", and Microsoft is making various efforts at a company called Tech Giant, such as submerging the data center in the sea. Therefore, this time, we will consider what the positive impact is and what the burden on the environment is, with reference to domestic and overseas efforts.
General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center
March 15, 2021
New Electric Power Net Management Office
Soaring Japanese electricity market analysis and lessons from overseas markets
Spot electricity prices in Japan have soared for about four weeks. Never before has such a long-term high price been seen in the world's major electricity markets. This situation can cause significant losses to new electricity and can lead to bankruptcy. This article compares the situation in Japan with a similar situation in France in 2016 and explains the importance of market transparency, futures trading and risk management to prevent this situation in Japan from recurring.
General Incorporated Association Energy Information Center
February 24, 2021
New Electric Power Net Management Office
What are the climate change measures of the US-Byden administration? What is the impact on the world and Japan? [Part 1]
I will think twice about what kind of efforts will be made in the Biden administration's climate change measures, what kind of effects can be expected, and what kind of impact will be on the world and Japan.