号号(2021.12.03)
1 nanochip is realized in 2027?
Nikkei News reported on the 3rd that the global development competition for cutting-edge semiconductors will enter a new stage. The Belgian research institution Microelectronics Research Center (imec), which cooperates with large global enterprises, has formulated a roadmap for the practicalization of chips with circuit line widths of 1 nanometers in 2027. It means that the subsequent 0.7-nanometer chip will also be mass-produced after 2029.
Microelectronics Research Center is a non-profit research institution with approximately 5,000 researchers. Large semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and raw material manufacturers such as TSMC, Intel and Samsung Electronics participate in it by sending researchers or conducting commissioned research. Previously, the technology developed based on the roadmap of the Microelectronics Research Center became the basis for various enterprises to promote practicality.
This time, the Microelectronics Research Center proposed a new roadmap, which became an important guideline in predicting the future development of cutting-edge semiconductors.
is driven by this, and the competition focusing on "below 1 nanometer" may be fully launched in the future. The current cutting-edge products are 5-nanometer chips mass-produced by TSMC and Samsung. The two companies plan to start mass production of 2-nanometer chips in 2025. Intel also said that it will restore the world's top manufacturing technology in the same year and is accelerating its R&D. IBM in the United States announced in May that it had successfully conducted trial production of 2nm chips.
On the other hand, the new generation of EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography equipment that is indispensable for mass production below 2 nanometers is promoting joint development projects with the Netherlands ASML Holdings, and Tokyo Electronics, Japan is also involved. Luc Van den hove, CEO of the Microelectronics Research Center, revealed in response to the progress of the project that "the pilot machine is planned to be launched by early 2023, and companies are seeking to achieve mass production by 2026."
The leap forward in semiconductor performance will promote the utilization of AI responsible for computing processing in the field of "edge terminals" in daily life such as home appliances and robots. Nowadays, AI’s huge computing processing is done on cloud platforms, but Luc Van den hove points out that “the future will become (balanced with edge terminals)”, and as processing is shared by cloud platforms and edge terminals, it hopes to help reduce the power consumption required when sent to data centers.
China-made photovoltaic panel price increase affects Japan's energy strategy
Japan Economic News reported on the 3rd that the global price of photovoltaic panels has risen to a level 30% higher than the previous year. The reason is that due to the power shortage in China, the main production area, the operating rate of panel factories has decreased and the supply capacity has decreased. For Japanese power generation companies, prices have risen to unprofitable levels, and the changes or delays in contracts have occurred one after another. The Japanese government's strategy of obtaining renewable energy through photovoltaic power generation may be affected.
, a Japanese Resources Integrated Systems Corporation, which conducts photovoltaic power generation consulting business, shows that the global price of photovoltaic panels was US$0.258 per watt as of November 12, about 30% higher than US$0.196 in October 2020.
Chinese companies that control 7 parts of the photovoltaic panel market are sluggish in production. In the summer of 2020, explosions occurred in China's factory of silicon, which is a raw material for panels. Against the backdrop of the inability to grow smoothly in silicon supply, the shortage of electricity across China after the fall of 2021 further hit panel supply.
In China, the operating rates of factories such as aluminum frames and silicon used in photovoltaic panels have fallen together, and prices have risen. This also led to a decrease in the operating rate of panel factories.
Increased production costs and insufficient panel supply have triggered price increases.
htmlIn October, Japan's Izumi Hitomotive announced that it would stop producing photovoltaic panels independently. Japan was once one of the few photovoltaic panel manufacturers in the world, but due to the squeeze of Chinese companies, Japan now has a market share of only 0.3%. If the photovoltaic panels mainly imported from China are not relied on, the construction of photovoltaic power stations in Japan will be difficult to advance smoothly.Japan proposed a policy in the 6th basic energy plan, saying that the proportion of renewable energy in the power composition will reach 36%-38% by 2030, up to twice the current level. To achieve the goal, photovoltaic power generation will need to increase from 62 million kilowatts in March 2021 to up to 117.6 million kilowatts by 2030. The current rise in panel prices may pour cold water on the plan.
Japan established the "Education Future Creation Conference" to discuss the university model
Kyodo News reported that the Japanese government decided to establish the "Education Future Creation Conference" at the cabinet meeting on the 3rd to discuss the appropriate models of higher education such as universities and students. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida served as chairman, and a total of 25 experts including relevant cabinet officials such as Akamoto Matsu Nobusuke, and universities and enterprises. The first meeting will be held as soon as this month, striving to summarize the first suggestions around next summer.
This conference is a follow-up organization that accompanied the abolition of the "Education Regeneration Execution Conference" established by Shinzo Abe's former government in 2013. The main discussion focuses on the goal model of university education, talent training measures mainly focused on the digital and technological fields that the Kishida regime attaches importance to as a growth strategy. It is expected that promoting the "return to education" for re-learning in working people and introducing a new scholarship system will also become topics. There are 15 experts in
, and more than half of them are 8. Including NITORI Holdings Director Ain Sun-Mi, actor Maiko Ito, and Hideko Hihiri-chan, president of Kyoto Yoshino. Men include Keio University former president Atsushi Kiyoi, who served as the chairman of the Japanese private schools' revitalization of Mutuala, Hitachi Production Institute Chairman and CEO (CEO) Toshiaki Higashihara, and Nagano Prefecture Governor Abe Moiichi.
Kishida is a secretariat located in the province of Liberal Arts. He said, "It's finally started, and the spirit is refreshing. Looking forward to improving education." Liberal Arts Xiang Mosong said at a press conference after the cabinet meeting, "It's rare for women to study science and engineering majors to be a topic. I hope the meeting will make suggestions from a new perspective."
The UK's new railway travel platform promises to plant a tree for every train ticket sold
1 The Guardian reported on the 3rd that a new train ticketing platform launched by the UK today promises to plant a tree for every ticket sold, hoping that this will attract passengers who care about climate change. Trainhugger said it will work with the Royal Forestry Association and the Royal Forestry Association of Scotland to take out 50p from the £1.50 per ticket booking fee to buy a small tree.
The site will sell the same UK routes and fares as other rail sites, such as Trainline, which charges online booking fees of 80p to £1.75 per ticket (and early booking fees of 35p to £1.75, free on the day of the trip). Passengers who book tickets directly from Southern or Virgin railway suppliers usually don’t have to pay a booking fee, but Trainhugger’s founders believe they will be able to win enough business from competitors to contribute considerably to combat climate change. They hope to plant 10 million trees by 2025.
"If the railway returns to its pre-COVID-18 billion people in 2019 - and 5% of those passengers choose to buy tickets through Trainhugger, that would be 90 million bookings or 90 million trees, and we will meet the government's goal of planting 90 million to 120 million trees (30,000 hectares) per year," said Felix Tanzer, who co-founded the company with Ed Caldecott.
Although Trainhugger and its Android and iOS apps are officially launched today, passengers can book through the site starting in late October. It has accepted 25,000 reservations, the equivalent of 25,000 trees, with the first of which being planted in Buckinghamshire.
The website uses a third-party booking and payment system - On Track Retail - and says it will offer the same fare as other websites.
registered passengers can get a record of the number of trees they personally pay for, and can also find information about the farmers who plant these trees.
Today's picture
Avian influenza epidemic reappears in Japan. More than 60,000 chickens were culled in the chicken farm in Kumamoto Prefecture
Photo was taken on December 1, 2016. Avian influenza broke out in a local chicken farm in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, and staff went to disinfect.
According to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), on December 2, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was detected in a dead chicken farm in Nankawa Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. At present, the county has begun to culminate about 67,000 chickens in this chicken farm.In addition, within 3 kilometers of the chicken farm, it is designated as a "restricted moving area" that prohibits the transport of chickens and eggs, and within 10 kilometers of the chicken farm, it is designated as a "restricted moving area" that prohibits shipment from out of the area. Previously, avian influenza viruses have been found in chicken farms in Kagoshima and Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
(This article is compiled from Nihon Keizai, Kyodo News, Guardian)
Economic Observer Intern Reporter Zhou Yuqing Organize
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