Message from the Chief Technology Officer

The automobile industry is constantly evolving. The vehicle electrification trend, which had seemingly been dominated by the switch to BEVs, is now seeing a resurgence of interest in HEVs and PHEVs in some regions. This underscores the increasingly diverse and complex nature of today’s needs in society and the market. Technological trends are advancing at an even faster pace, with significant developments and widespread adoption of new technologies occurring within the span of just a few months.

DENSO’s medium- to long-term technology strategy puts the focus on electrification, automation, and carbon neutrality as well as semiconductors and software as the core technologies that support these areas. In these rapidly changing times, the Company is taking a two-pronged approach to technology management: a bottom-up approach to free-spirited R&D that anticipates future trends and a top-down approach with senior management guiding the direction and swiftly modifying strategies in tune with changes.

To ensure continued corporate growth and the sustainable provision of value in a rapidly changing business environment, it is essential that we secure and maintain long-term management resources for R&D. Despite the challenging business environment, DENSO has consistently allocated 8% to 9% of its sales to R&D. Moving forward, we will maintain this level of spending to continue advancing our R&D efforts.

As vehicles become more tightly integrated with society, automobiles will be built with a larger number of semiconductors, including high-performance logic chips (SoCs) for large-scale integrated electronic control units (ECUs), microcontrollers (MCUs) for single ECUs, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) used in all ECUs, and power semiconductors for driving motors. The automotive semiconductor market is expected to expand 3.5 times by 2030 compared with 2020. Recognizing semiconductors as a core technology, DENSO is taking the following three strategies to strengthen its intellectual capital in this area.

1. Logic semiconductors:
Leveraging external intellectual capital and collaboration

To ensure it can reliably procure advanced logic semiconductors, DENSO presents strategic specifications for automotive semiconductors and collaborates with semiconductor manufacturers and foundries to co-develop driving assistance SoCs through a strategic separation of operations. For example, the Company is accelerating preparations to ensure reliable procurement by investing in Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM) along with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) and Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation to support domestic production of 28nm microcontrollers.

In anticipation of more intelligent vehicles in the future, DENSO is also engaged in cutting-edge research in logic semiconductors. In 2022, DENSO co-founded Rapidus Corporation, which focuses on developing and manufacturing logic semiconductors employing miniaturized processes that determine the performance of these semiconductors. In 2023, DENSO joined Advanced SoC Research for Automotive (ASRA), an industry–government–academia group dedicated to technological research in high-performance automotive semiconductors, and is actively involved in the development of automotive-specific SoCs.

2. Analog semiconductors for sensor signal control:
Strengthening internal intellectual capital

Analog semiconductors are embedded with DENSO’s expertise in automotive control specifications. DENSO aims to balance competitive advantages and reliable supply by optimizing in-house production and external procurement of analog semiconductors.

3. Power semiconductors:
Strengthening internal intellectual capital

Power semiconductors are a key area where DENSO can differentiate itself. Leveraging over half a century of research and production experience in automotive semiconductors, DENSO prioritizes internal research in this area to maximize system competitiveness. For HEVs, DENSO supplies compact, low-loss devices made from silicon (Si) on large-diameter 300mm wafers to enhance cost competitiveness.

For BEVs, DENSO is focusing on silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors that feature significantly reduced power loss. To support mass production of SiC devices, DENSO is developing a proprietary “gas method” for producing high-quality SiC wafers at low cost. This formation technique aims to accelerate crystal growth and reduce production costs by 30%.

DENSO combines its world-class development, technological, and manufacturing capabilities to develop technologies that can be implemented across a wide range of fields, ultimately enriching and enhancing people’s lives.