Breaking the Bottleneck | Issue 42
[3/4/2024] Chip Manufacturing, Electric Factories, Limble & Epicor Reports, & More!
Breaking the Bottleneck is a weekly manufacturing technology newsletter with perspectives, interviews, news, funding announcements, manufacturing market maps, and a startup database!
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Content I Enjoyed Last Week 🏭🗞️🔬 📚
News
Inside the Miracle of Modern Chip Manufacturing [FT]
An awesome breakdown by the FT on the process of chip manufacturing!
Plans to Expand U.S. Chip Manufacturing Are Running Into Obstacles [NY Times]
In December 2022, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced a plan to invest $40 billion in Arizona for its first major U.S. semiconductor production hub. However, TSMC faced delays, pushing back the start of manufacturing at the first factory to 2025 and the second to 2027 or 2028 due to local worker expertise issues and uncertainties about technology choices and federal funding. This isn’t just limited to TSMC, and similar challenges have affected other chipmakers like Intel and Microchip Technology, complicated by a sales slump in the semiconductor industry. This is another indictment of the CHIPS Act, which aims to stimulate U.S. chip production and manufacturing through grants and tax credits. Though more than 600 companies have expressed interest in the subsidies, the lack of structure with the regulation and slump in demand has forced most of these companies to postpone or scale back expansion plans.
The Lithium-ion Battery May Not Be the Best Bet for EVs [IEEE Spectrum]
An IEEE study compared five types of EV battery cells: traditional lithium-ion, silicon-polyacrylonitrile (SiCPAN), silicon nanowire (SiNW), all-solid-state, and lithium-sulfur cells, assessing their impact in terms of climate change, acidification, eutrophication, ecotoxicity, fossil fuel use, and mineral depletion. The results indicate that lithium-sulfur cells are the most environmentally friendly option among the batteries studied. These cells are promising for EVs due to their high capacity and energy density and the absence of rare earth metals in their composition. Furthermore, lithium-sulfur cells outperformed standard lithium-ion batteries in four out of the six environmental impact categories assessed, except for climate change and fossil fuel use. Conversely, the SiNW cells showed the worst environmental impact, primarily due to the use of significant amounts of precious metals like silver nitrate and energy-intensive manufacturing processes.
Intel Launches World’s First Systems Foundry Designed for the AI Era [Intel]
Intel Corp. (INTC) recently launched Intel Foundry, a sustainable foundry business for the AI era, and announced an expanded process roadmap aimed at establishing leadership in the latter part of this decade. The roadmap includes the addition of Intel 14A to their leading-edge node plan and the introduction of new Intel Foundry Advanced System Assembly and Test capabilities. Intel confirmed that its ambitious five-nodes-in-four-years roadmap is on track, promising the industry’s first backside power solution. Intel’s extended process technology roadmap includes evolutions for Intel 3, Intel 18A, and Intel 14A process technologies, with Intel 3-T optimized for 3D advanced packaging designs. The roadmap also highlights mature process nodes, including new 12-nanometer nodes developed with UMC. Intel Foundry plans to introduce a new node every two years, offering customers continuous evolution on Intel’s leading process technology. The company also shared plans to collaborate with Arm on foundry services for Arm-based SoCs, showcasing an "Emerging Business Initiative" to support startups. Intel’s systems foundry approach, offering full-stack optimization, differentiates it in the AI era.
First Electric Cars. Next, Electric Factories? [Economist]
The International Energy Agency (IEA) notes that industry consumes a third of global energy, predominantly from fossil fuels, making it a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. McKinsey predicts that 44% of Europe's decarbonization by 2050 could come from electrification, outpacing hydrogen and CCS. There are many examples where this is already underway. BASF is part of a consortium, including SABIC and Linde, working on an electric furnace for chemical reactions. Similar initiatives are seen in other sectors: Rio Tinto and BHP are developing Australia's first electric smelter for iron ore, Fortescue is introducing electric mining equipment, and Spain’s Roca Group has developed an electric industrial tunnel kiln for ceramics. These moves signify a shift from traditional carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen-based solutions to electrification. For temperatures up to 200°C, industrial heat pumps are gaining attention. AtmosZero, for example, is replacing a gas-fired boiler in New Belgium. Higher temperature processes require different technologies, like Rondo Energy’s thermal storage using heated bricks, which can store and release heat efficiently. Finally, electrification also extends to steelmaking and cement production, traditionally high-emission industries. Electra is developing a fire-free furnace for iron production, while Sublime Systems has created a low-emission method for producing cement using electrolysis.
MIT Engineers 3D Print the Electromagnets [MIT]
Researchers at MIT have developed fully 3D-printed solenoids, which could potentially revolutionize the manufacturing of electronic devices by making them more accessible and cost-effective. Solenoids, electromagnets created by coiling wire around a magnetic core, are traditionally challenging to integrate into electrical circuits due to their unique form factors and incompatible manufacturing processes. The MIT team addressed this by modifying a commercial extrusion 3D printer to handle multiple materials, allowing for the precise layering of a dielectric material (insulator), a conductive material (electric coil), and a soft magnetic material (core). The modified printer uses a more effective soft magnetic material and precisely controls the printing process, resulting in smaller solenoids, with more coils, and capable of producing a magnetic field three times larger than previous 3D-printed versions.
Research:
Voice of the Essential Manufacturing Worker [Epicor]
Some Key Findings from the Report:
Compared to last year’s results, Epicor found that fewer respondents (52% to 64%) believe their jobs will be replaced by automation.
83% of employees who had the opportunity to use new tools or technologies said they worked more efficiently as a result
70% of companies are actively pursuing training initiatives and making upskilling a priority. That’s a 10-point slip from last year’s findings.
55% of workers express a preference for more sustainable working conditions, though only 45% believe their companies prioritize this adequately.
43% of workers are considering leaving their jobs within a year, with only 45% of workers citing high morale, a decrease from 52% last year
State of Manufacturing & Maintenance [Limble]
Some Key Findings from the Report:
91% of manufacturing professionals said they are shoring up their data collection and analysis capabilities
51% of respondents chose excessive downtime, aging infrastructure, or workforce issues as one of their top three current challenges
78% of respondents say they are supporting preventive maintenance initiatives
55% of respondents said that they are focusing on recruitment and retention
Manufacturers are addressing the issue of aging infrastructure are proactive maintenance (72%) and investing in new equipment (69%)
69% of manufacturing and facility maintenance professionals said they are focused on diversifying suppliers to address challenges within their supply chain.
Chart of the Week:
Podcasts/Video:
2024 State of Manufacturing Address [NAM]
Manufacturing Deals🏭💵
Intenseye - A platform Empowering EHS leaders to modernize workplace safety and minimize lost work time with AI
$64 million [Series B] - Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and joined by Insight Partners, Point Nine, and Air Street Capital
RobCo - A provider of affordable and connected robotics automation solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises
$42.5 million [Series B] - Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and joined by Sequoia Capital, Kindred Capital and Promus Ventures
Elevated Signals - A platform that automates and simplifies the capture of manufacturing data, providing a unified source of truth
$7.8 million [Series A] - Led by Yaletown Partners and joined by Third Kind Venture Capital, WGD Capital, Colin Harris, Raiven Capital, and Pareto Holdings
Chiral - A Swiss company enabling the manufacturing of the next-generation nanotransistors
$3.8 million [Series Seed] - Led by Founderful and HCVC and joined by grants from ETH Zurich and Venture Kick
Planned Downtime 🏭🧑🔧
Hadrian Building the Future of Manufacturing
Tesla Berlin Gigafactory Tour