Listen to this articleThe Lehigh Valley may not have received a Tech Hub designation under the federal CHIPS Act, but a local leader in the semiconductor industry says it is still important for the U.S. and the region to concentrate its efforts on developing better and more efficient semiconductors.
If the Lehigh Valley had been named a Tech Hub, it would have meant between $50 million and $75 million in federal investment in education and infrastructure to help boost semiconductor development and manufacturing in the region.
Mark Granahan, CEO and founder of iDEAL Semiconductor in Bethlehem, said that with or without the designation, semiconductors are still an important technology to continue development work on for both national security and to offset any future supply chain concerns.
Semiconductors are used in products ranging from smart phones to medical equipment, vehicles and virtually any computer application.
Currently, Granahan said China dominates the semiconductor industry, making the U.S. and the rest of the world highly dependent on the country for the technology.
That puts a lot of power in China’s hands, with the ability to cut off supply to the vital technology.
He said it’s also a risk for U.S. companies to make semiconductors in China because intellectual property regulations aren’t as strong there.
Of course, there’s the lesson learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that a supply chain disruption can shut down many industries.
He said bringing that vital technology manufacturing back to the U.S. and investing in improvements to semiconductors is important.
He founded iDEAL in 2018 and operates out of the Ben Franklin Tech Center on the Lehigh University campus in Bethlehem.
When it was time to begin manufacturing his semiconductors, he was determined to keep manufacturing in the U.S. for the reasons he outlined previously.
All the semiconductors developed in Bethlehem are manufactured by Polar Semiconductor in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“There’s a lot of advantages to being all in the same time zone and speaking the same language from both an economic and defense perspective,” he said.
But it’s not just national security and supply chain issues that Granahan is looking at. He said developing a better semiconductor is vital to address the growing need for energy efficiency as the world becomes more electrified.
Since electricity first became commonplace at the start of the last century, electricity usage has grown to 3.5 terawatts nationally.
It’s projected that in the next 30 years that demand will grow to 7 terawatts, double the current usage.
At the same time, Granahan said the development of new power generating stations aren’t keeping up with the projected demand for electricity, and even the wind and solar projects that are out there won’t alleviate the problem.
The answer, he said, is to make products that use electricity more efficient, and that is what they’re trying to do with the semiconductors they’re developing at iDEAL.
The company has what it calls Super Q, the third generation of discrete power and it is working on a 20-year roadmap to improve the technology.
He said that will help preserve power in many ways, by eliminating waste – generally given off as heat – the device that the semiconductor is powering becomes more efficient itself, but also the system becomes more efficient because less energy is needed to maintain cooling systems.
Such efficiencies could be a huge benefit to data centers and electric vehicles.
He said by making electric vehichles more efficient, automakers can add several miles of battery life per trip.
And while the federal CHIPS money may have been helpful in making the investments companies, like iDEAL need to bring electrification to scale, those who had been working towards a Tech Hub designation for the Lehigh Valley, are still keeping an eye on supporting the industry.
Congresswoman Susan Wild, D-Lehigh, who sponsored the CHIPS legislation, said much was learned from the process of submitting an application and she’s not giving up on future funding.
“I’m proud of these strong, lasting cross-sector partnerships we forged, and I’m proud to have advocated for our community at every turn,” Wild said. There remains enormous potential and opportunity for growing our semiconductor ecosystem here in the Lehigh Valley—and I’ll continue doing all I can to bring home investments supporting semiconductor production and technological growth, to create good-paying jobs and strengthen our local economy.”
And one small piece of good news for iDEAL is that it has received funding for the next quarter from a local resource.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania has approved $500,000 in funding to help iDEAL with its semiconductor development.
