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Hon Hai Delivers First EV Bus To Kaohsiung City in Taiwan
TAIWAN REPORT
On March 3, Hon Hai Precision Industry delivered its first EV, the Model T commercial bus, to a bus route operator based in Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan. The company aims to deliver 30 buses by the end of this year to expand its EV business, which is a new entry into the market, and the key to its future growth will be the extent to which it can break away from its business model that relies on contracted production of iPhones.
The "Model T" was delivered to Kaohsiung Bus Company.…
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TSMC in Early Talks on Germany Plant
Erik Martin Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks with the German government about potentially establishing a plant in the country, according to a senior executive.
Various factors, including government subsidies, customer demand and the talent pool, would influence its final decision, TSMC senior vice president of Europe and Asia sales Lora Ho (何麗梅) told reporters on the sidelines of a technology forum in Taipei.
The discussions come as the EU and others seek to increase domestic chip production to mitigate the risk of supply chain disruptions.
The chipmaker has not discussed incentives with Berlin or decided on a location, Ho said.
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TSMC Plans Plant in Japan, Operation Set for 2024
FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, has announced that it will build a new plant in Japan, with plans to begin construction in 2022 and mass production in 2024. The Sony Group and Denso Corporation are expected to participate in the construction of the new plant.
The new plant will produce logic semiconductors with a circuit line width of 22 to 28 nanometers. They are generally used in signal processing that requires large amounts of data, and in high-performance microcomputers used in car control. TSMC envisions the site adjacent to the Sony Group’s image sensor plant in Kumamoto Prefecture as the planned construction site.
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Understanding the Global Chip Shortage
Erik Martin Semiconductors help power everything from your phone to your car. Here’s what to know about the major supply chain problem.
There are chips in nearly everything electric you own, from your phone to your computer to your car. There are even chips in items you wouldn’t expect, such as your washing machine, electric toothbrush, and refrigerator. But these tiny parts that power so much of our lives are now in critically short supply.
“Right now we have a global supply chain in crisis,” says Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University. “We’ve just never ever seen anything of this magnitude impact us before.”
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ENGIE EPS Acquisition May Create Euro-Asian Powerhouse
Erik Martin TAIPEI–The acquisition of a 60.5% stake in ENGIE EPS by Taiwan Cement Corporation (TCC) was finalized and completed in July.
The deal, which was announced in April, saw the Italy-headquartered stationary storage and e-mobility solutions subsidiary of French multinational Engie taken over by TCC subsidiary Taiwan Cement Europe Holdings.
What both parties get out of the deal
In a press release, TCC said it has now become a “major player” in electric vehicle charging infrastructure as well as its newly acquired capabilities in building large-scale battery storage systems and microgrids.
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Taiwan Pushing into Next-Generation EV Battery Development
Erik Martin TAIPEI. As electric vehicle (EV) development becomes a global effort, batteries that play a vital role to EVs’ cost-performance ratios are a focus to manufacturers with ambitions to expand in the EV market…
Taiwan’s battery industry may not be backed by well-known brands and abundant natural resources. Nevertheless, a large part of Taiwan-based battery suppliers have been assembling battery modules for Taiwan’s ICT industry. For example, Simplo, Dynapack and Celxpert with a long-term focus on manufacturing battery modules for consumer electronics such as notebook only started to set foot in EV battery solutions in recent years…
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Parched Taiwan Prays for Rain as Sun Moon Lake Hit by Drought
Erik Martin TAIWAN — Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake is so low that parts of it have dried and turned to grass. Jetties that normally float are sprawled awkwardly on dry land, and tour boats are crowded at the tail ends of pontoons still in the water.
Usually one of the island’s most famous tourist destinations, the lake has recently become a star of a different kind. Following the worst drought in 56 years, it is now famous for all the wrong reasons. These days, Instagram influencers photograph themselves posing in a dust-colored, dinghy half-buried in a cracked and cratered lakebed…
But away from the quirky headlines, the situation is dire. Other reservoirs across central and southern Taiwan are effectively empty, down to 5% or less.
Taiwan has had drought before, but observers are hoping the severity of this one – which has lasted 18 months and threatens Taiwan’s economic lifeblood of semiconductor production – is enough to prompt real action on climate change.
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TAIWAN REPORT: First Self-Driving Bus on Three-Month Trial in Tainan
A month ago, the first self-driving bus operations begun its three-month trial in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan. It is the first revenue-generating service of autonomous rapid transit (ART) project supported by the central and local governments. The goal is to launch commercial operation across the country in 2021.
Erik Martin “Autonomous technology will lead a revolutionary change to the city’s transportation systems,” said Huang Wei-Cher, Mayor of Tainan. “The smart transportation initiative will help us improve overall road safety, operational efficiency, and rural area transportation services.”
The service will cover two business districts. One service will run on weekends only, on a 2.5km route between Nanke Railway Station and National Museum of Prehistory, while the other will be on weekdays in the 6.4km route along Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, where a smart vehicle testing site is located.
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TAIWAN REPORT: No New Coronavirus Cases
April 17, 2020–Taiwan reported no new coronavirus cases on April 14, 2020, marking the first-time authorities there have reported zero new cases in more than a month. It’s also the latest achievement for a health system that first acted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in December.
Erik Martin With a population of around 23 million, Taiwan has only 393 confirmed COVID-19 cases; six people have died from the disease. The last time Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center announced no new cases was on March 9 – 36 days ago.
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