Industrial Electronics to Be Expanded

Leadership missed in E-Mobility...

Germany should become the world leader in e-mobility. This goal was missed. What do you expect from politics?
I hope that the European Union and the individual states will adopt a strategy and implement a corresponding industrial policy that will create the appropriate standards, regulations, and infrastructure to achieve the strategic goals.
In addition, financial support should be given to companies that have innovative ideas that serve the European strategy. Such companies often need a lot of money to get from the idea to series production.
For example, when ST took the risk of investing hundreds of millions of dollars in SiC, we were alone. Nobody believed in SiC. A start-up cannot do anything like that at all, the gap between a good idea and series production is really big. So the EU should decide to financially support things that serve the future of Europe.

Hasn't a lot changed with the Projects of Common Interests?
Yes, PCIs are good examples because a good balance has finally been found between support for R&D and support for industrialization. From my point of view, industrialization plays a more important role because countries like the USA or China offer support exactly here. That is what we in Europe have to do. In Europe, the road from start-up to series production is very rocky. This requires capital; venture capital is not enough. There are many good ideas in Europe, but everyone needs help with the ramp-up.

Financial support for R&D activities is not important?
Yes, it is, when it comes to technologies that allow us to differentiate ourselves. For example, as a semiconductor manufacturer we can buy many things in Taiwan, but in some areas it might be useful to develop these technologies here and manufacture them here.

What are ST's current delivery times for power semiconductors, especially MOSFETs? What measures have you taken to, as it seems, ease the situation faster than others?
Thanks to the success of our strategy and product roadmap, volumes increased significantly in 2018, even more than we expected. To meet this high demand, we have heavily invested in our Catania and Singapore manufacturing facilities to meet the needs of our customers, especially in the automotive and industrial sectors.

ST traditionally concentrates on smaller power outputs in the power semiconductor sector. Is it conceivable that in the future the commitment could be extended to higher outputs?
We have expanded our product roadmap for both die and module IGBTs in 750, 900, and 1200 V and are working on 1700 V for industrial applications. We are definitely pushing this area, especially in the automotive sector. In the silicon area, too; we have added a complete range of power modules to our strategy.

1. Industrial Electronics to Be Expanded
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3. Leadership missed in E-Mobility...
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