A £16.6m investment for semiconductor researchers and businesses to access new equipment for the testing and development of chips for use in high-energy machines such as electric vehicles (EVs) has been announced by the UK government.
Some £14m of the funding is targeted at semiconductors used in power electronics, which is where chips convert and control power in energy intensive machines, including EVs.
The new tools, based predominantly in Newcastle and Strathclyde, aim to help researchers and businesses of all sizes test applications of new innovations in power electronics and improve their semiconductor packaging processes.
This involves adding complex casing to silicon wafers so they can interact with the devices they are designed to process information for.
The investment, made through Innovate UK, comes as part of the UK’s Semiconductor Strategy, which identified new ways of packaging and testing chips as a key area to drive performance improvements in semiconductors.
According to the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, innovations in advanced packaging will help reduce the power needed to run semiconductors by improving their performance in demanding applications while ensuring chips can cool down more effectively in hot environments.
UK technology minister Saqib Bhatti said: “This investment in open-access technology will make sure British researchers have the tools they need to rapidly turn semiconductor science into business reality, all while making hugely energy intensive sectors more sustainable.”
The open-access tools will cover a range of processes involved with designing and testing these semiconductors, including ‘slicing’ silicon wafers into smaller chips and bonding complex materials together to make chips.
Funding will also be used to help manufacturers improve the technology used to automate assembly processes, as well as helping build and test ‘drives’ that are pivotal in the conversion of energy into motion in EVs.
The funding will build on an existing network of machinery open to researchers and businesses across the UK through Driving the Electric Revolution Industrial Centres (DER-IC), originally backed by £33m of funding in 2019.
DER-IC has previously partnered with the likes of McLaren Applied to test and develop new ways of manufacturing an electric drivetrain, a power electronics technology used by companies producing automotives and aeroplanes to bring more efficient electric products to market faster.
Achievements and innovations in sustainable urban mobility will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector.
