Government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) will in 2021 begin a project aiming to form an ecosystem in southern Taiwan for compound semiconductor-based automotive power electronics, according to Wu Cheng-wen, senior vice president for ITRI.
There are about 2,500 automotive component makers in Taiwan. More than 760 of them are based in the southern region, with many of them having entered first-tier supply chains for international automakers, said Wu, who is also general director for ITRI's Southern Region Campus in Tainan City.
In view of increasing adoption of semiconductor-based electronic components for cars and fast development of electric vehicles (EV), southern Taiwan-based makers of car components based on metal, plastic or composite materials have been under pressure to transform their business, Wu noted.
Stepping into automotive electronics is naturally a good choice for automotive component makers in southern Taiwan, but they lack relevant technologies and talent to do so, Wu said.
Taiwan-based electronics makers mostly focus on electronic components and devices used in ICT products or consumer electronics, and few of them have stepped into the car sector, Wu indicated.
While there is a strong supply chain for Si-based semiconductors in Taiwan, only a small portion of makers have been engaged in developing compound semiconductors because demand is much smaller than that for Si-based semiconductors, Wu said. Taiwan-based compound semiconductor makers' combined global market share is less than 8%, much lower than over 20% for Si-based semiconductors, Wu noted.
For implementing the Southern Rain Forest project, ITRI targets automotive component makers with annual revenues of over NT$10 billion (US$352 million), for they are supposed to be in direct business relations with first-tier supply chain makers for international automakers, Wu indicated.
