Defense Production Act of 1950

IperionX Receives US$12.7M U.S. Department of Defense Grant for Domestic Titanium Production

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 1, 2023

The United States has limited domestic primary titanium metal (titanium sponge) capacity and currently imports over 95% of the titanium sponge required for the U.S. defense sector.

Key Points: 
  • The United States has limited domestic primary titanium metal (titanium sponge) capacity and currently imports over 95% of the titanium sponge required for the U.S. defense sector.
  • IperionX intends to re-shore a full titanium supply chain to the U.S. to reduce the acute reliance on titanium imports from foreign nations and strengthen the titanium supply chain for critical defense and advanced industries.
  • IperionX will apply the US$12.7 million U.S. DoD grant funding towards building a 125 metric tons per annum titanium production facility in Halifax County, Virginia, with first production expected in 2024.
  • IperionX has the potential to deliver a full U.S. titanium supply chain from titanium mineral production to the manufacturing of high performance titanium products, and the unique ability to use 100% recycled scrap titanium.

OpenAccess Color Team Garners Annual Si2 Power of Partnerships Award

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Technologists from Intel and Microsoft are 2023 winners of the Silicon Integration Initiative Power of Partnerships Award, presented annually to the Si2 volunteer team with the most significant contributions to the electronic design automation industry.

Key Points: 
  • Technologists from Intel and Microsoft are 2023 winners of the Silicon Integration Initiative Power of Partnerships Award, presented annually to the Si2 volunteer team with the most significant contributions to the electronic design automation industry.
  • The Si2 OpenAccess Multi-Patterning Technology (oaxColor) Working Group, led by Benjamin Hoefer of Intel, won the award for developing oaxColor, a managed extension to the OpenAccess API.
  • OpenAccess is one of the most widely used open-reference databases for IC design.
  • Marshall Tiner, Si2 senior director of OpenAccess, said, “The lack of multipattern technology support had impeded the further expansion of OA interoperability in this area.

TMRC Announces Successful Completion of Geophysical Investigation in the Blackhawk Silver/Nickel/Cobalt Mining District, Identifies 16 Potential Drill Targets

Retrieved on: 
Friday, July 21, 2023

The overall production of the European districts is not accurately recorded but Cobalt is credited at approximately 460 million ounces.

Key Points: 
  • The overall production of the European districts is not accurately recorded but Cobalt is credited at approximately 460 million ounces.
  • A common characteristic of the historic districts is the large number of veins within a relatively small area.
  • After all three phases, sixteen anomalies of sufficient strength and size to be designated as drill targets have been identified.
  • Correlation between the geophysical and geological interpretation, and the existing historic mine workings is excellent.

NXP Semiconductors Executive Reelected Board Chair of Silicon Integration Initiative for 2023-2024

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, July 20, 2023

Pankaj Kukkal, executive vice president of MCU/MPU Engineering for NXP Semiconductors, has been elected to a second term as board chair at Silicon Integration Initiative .

Key Points: 
  • Pankaj Kukkal, executive vice president of MCU/MPU Engineering for NXP Semiconductors, has been elected to a second term as board chair at Silicon Integration Initiative .
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230720494194/en/
    Pankaj Kukkal, executive vice president of MCU/MPU Engineering for NXP Semiconductors, has been elected to a second term as board chair at Silicon Integration Initiative.
  • Kukkal joined the Si2 board in 2020 to advocate for improved integrated circuit design tool interoperability and assumed the chair role in 2022.
  • Before NXP, he held executive leadership and engineering positions at Qualcomm and Intel, and design engineering positions at startup Knowledge Based Silicon and Ricoh Electronics.

New Report Spotlights Urgent Need to Revitalize U.S. Aluminum Manufacturing to Meet Climate, Economic, and National Security Goals

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Aluminum is a primary material in solar panels, electric vehicles, and other rapidly expanding clean technologies.

Key Points: 
  • Aluminum is a primary material in solar panels, electric vehicles, and other rapidly expanding clean technologies.
  • New research projects that by 2035, aluminum demand from U.S. solar power alone will significantly exceed current U.S. aluminum production for all end uses.
  • As a result, workers have lost good-paying jobs and U.S. aluminum has been replaced by more polluting production overseas.
  • "If we strategically target these investments, we can reverse the decline of U.S. aluminum manufacturing.

Amid fears of Chinese influence, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has grown more powerful

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 1, 2023

A Chinese private equity firm, Primavera Capital Group, acquired the well-known test preparation company Princeton Review and an online learning platform, Tutor.com, in May 2023.

Key Points: 
  • A Chinese private equity firm, Primavera Capital Group, acquired the well-known test preparation company Princeton Review and an online learning platform, Tutor.com, in May 2023.
  • What remains unclear, however, is if this seemingly routine business acquisition was reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which has authority to examine transactions involving foreign investment.
  • The committee is largely prohibited from publicly disclosing any information filed with it, including if it is reviewing a transaction or if one was referred for review.
  • While the committee is hardly a household name, its mission and expanding oversight have important implications for the U.S. economy and national security.

Government oversight

    • The Committee on Foreign Investment, a U.S. government interagency committee established in 1975 by President Gerald Ford, is tasked with studying and coordinating the implementation of policy on foreign investment in America.
    • Investment by foreign countries greatly benefits the U.S., supporting 10.1% of the total labor force in 2019.
    • Yet beginning in the 1980s, the federal government grew increasingly concerned about potentially harmful effects of foreign investment in the U.S. For example, if a foreign firm gets control of sensitive technologies, it could hurt national competitive advantages or even threaten national security.
    • Real estate transactions are generally scrutinized only when a transaction involves land that is either close to a military base or near an airport or seaport.

Vetting foreign investments

    • The purchase of Fairfield Semiconductor was considered a sensitive industry, with potential defense applications, and prompted Congress in 1988 to pass the Exon-Florio amendment to the Defense Production Act of 1950.
    • This amendment empowered the committee to not just review foreign investment deals but also to recommend rejecting them.
    • Acting on its recommendation, a U.S. president could block a foreign transaction on “national security” grounds.

Strengthening the committee

    • Because of terrorism-related concerns, Sen. Chuck Schumer led a campaign against this proposal and the transaction was eventually called off, even though it had initially been approved by both the committee and President George W. Bush.
    • In the aftermath of this controversy, lawmakers passed the Foreign Investment and National Security Act in 2007, giving Congress greater oversight of the committee to ensure that potential acquisitions were adequately reviewed.
    • In addition, it required the committee to scrutinize all foreign investment deals in which the pertinent overseas entity is either owned or controlled by a foreign power.

National security concerns

    • Over time, the Committee on Foreign Investment has been given more power to reflect and act on the political and economic concerns of the U.S. China, for example, appears to have global ambitions to replace the U.S.-led world order.
    • In response to these concerns, concrete steps have been taken by U.S. lawmakers to increase the scope of what the committee is able to do.
    • The Committee on Foreign Investment is now more powerful than it has ever been, and it is a gatekeeper on major foreign investment deals.
    • The U.S. is not alone in examining foreign investment deals for national security implications.

Robert Aslett Named Si2 President and CEO

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, May 4, 2023

Silicon Integration Initiative today announced that it appointed Robert Aslett as president and chief executive officer.

Key Points: 
  • Silicon Integration Initiative today announced that it appointed Robert Aslett as president and chief executive officer.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230504006035/en/
    A former Intel engineering vice president and general manager, Aslett has over 30 years of experience leading global technical organizations.
  • After leaving Intel, Aslett became an investor partner with Social Venture Partners of Portland, a leader in applying venture philanthropy to create social impact.
  • Technology Interoperability Trajectory Advisory CouNcil (TITAN) — serves the Si2 board in an advisory role, identifying industry infrastructural gaps in design automation interoperability.

IPC Applauds New U.S.-Canada Partnership to Strengthen Advanced Packaging and Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing in North America

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 24, 2023

“In order to achieve their shared goals, the U.S. and Canada must invest in and support the growth of the electronics manufacturing ecosystem, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), IC substrates, and semiconductor assembly.

Key Points: 
  • “In order to achieve their shared goals, the U.S. and Canada must invest in and support the growth of the electronics manufacturing ecosystem, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), IC substrates, and semiconductor assembly.
  • Neglecting a “silicon-to-systems” approach would undercut the promise of the CHIPS Act and the region’s long-term leadership in innovation.
  • Significantly, she said the U.S. will develop multiple high-volume “advanced packaging” facilities and become a global leader in chip packaging technologies.
  • Here are additional IPC resources on this issue:
    Website and video with industry leader soundbites: IPC has just published a new website with background information on advanced packaging.

New Advanced SPICE Model for ESD Diodes Addresses Challenges in IC Design and Protection

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 7, 2023

"Accurate SPICE simulation of electrostatic discharge scenarios and circuit protection is crucial to avoid ESD failures in integrated circuits and products," said Khandelwal.

Key Points: 
  • "Accurate SPICE simulation of electrostatic discharge scenarios and circuit protection is crucial to avoid ESD failures in integrated circuits and products," said Khandelwal.
  • The Advanced SPICE Model for ESD Diodes captures diode behavior under ESD event conditions."
  • This new standard will help IC manufacturers ensure their products meet industry standards for ESD and provide a more robust solution for ESD design.
  • Compact Model Coalition SPICE models are used to design and simulate the world’s most advanced semiconductors.

Graphex Technologies Announces LOI with Gratomic to Produce Natural Graphite Anode Material from Mine-to-Batteries

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Pursuant to the LOI, Graphex and Gratomic intend to diligently and in good faith negotiate the terms of a Joint Venture, including management and ownership structures, to jointly produce coated spherical graphite anode material for the EV/battery market.

Key Points: 
  • Pursuant to the LOI, Graphex and Gratomic intend to diligently and in good faith negotiate the terms of a Joint Venture, including management and ownership structures, to jointly produce coated spherical graphite anode material for the EV/battery market.
  • Graphex will license and/or contribute its technology and expertise to the Joint Venture and Gratomic will provide security of raw material supply (graphite concentrate).
  • Graphex has a long history of processing mine concentrate and produces 10,000 tpa of high yield, high quality battery anode material.
  • Graphex is currently the only experienced downstream processor of natural graphite that intends to develop an anode material processing plant in North America.