Recently, the “Zhejiang Daily” featured on its front page an article titled "The 'City of Cars' Pursues Chips and Chains: Ningbo Qianwan New Area Promotes Synergistic Development of Semiconductor and Automotive Industries", highlighting how the Qianwan New Area's dual engines of digital economy and automotive industry operate in tandem to empower the construction of a national-class development zone. Full text below:
In early June, the production capacity of optoelectronic chips and specialty power devices at the Zhongxin Semiconductor, Qianwan's first wafer manufacturing project, entered rapid ramp-up phase. "Our optocoupler chips have achieved stable supply, while automotive-grade chips customized for NEVs are under intensive development," said Zhang Lirong, the company's Executive Deputy General Manager. Driven by demand from pillar industries like automotive, many semiconductor firms have shifted to rush-order mode. In Q1, Qianwan's core digital economy industrial chain achieved 12.8-billion-yuan output value.
Qianwan's intelligent automotive industrial platform is Zhejiang's first certified "10,000-mu & 100-billion-yuan" new industrial platform. In 2024, Qianwan's NEV industry output reached 59.96 billion yuan, a 19.1% year on year increase, earning its "City of Cars" moniker. Capitalizing on smart automotive industry's massive demand for automotive chips and high-power devices, Qianwan proactively built a specialized semiconductor cluster through targeted investment attraction, strengthened supply chain coordination, and industry-education-finance integration. To date, total semiconductor investments in Qianwan exceed 50 billion yuan. Last year, core digital manufacturing output surpassed 60 billion yuan, maintaining more than 30% average growth over the recent three years. 6 Qianwan semiconductor firms including CEC Compound Semiconductor Co., Ltd., were recently listed among Zhejiang's unicorn enterprises, ranking among the top throughout the province.
By anchoring leading enterprises, Qianwan rapidly formed industrial chains. After landing Zhejiang's first third-gen semiconductor material project, CEC Compound Semiconductor’s Crystal project, Qianwan leveraged its central SOE resources to attract China's leading photomask producer Keystone Semiconductor within 42 days. Currently hosting nearly 60 semiconductor projects spanning the entire industrial chain, over 20% of these firms (10+) have products integrated into global automotive ecosystems.
As China's first SiC device mass-producer, Sichain Semiconductor partners with multiple NEV leaders and recently entered Volkswagen's global supply chain, with CEC Compound Semiconductor as its material supplier. "Our self-developed third-gen semiconductor materials have passed automotive certification with robust sales," said Wen Yufei from CEC Compound Semiconductor, noting collaborations with local peers like Yunde Materials, Zhonglei Laser and PN Junction Semiconductor on high-power semiconductors for automotive and PV applications.
Leveraging geographic and application scenario advantages, Qianwan actively brokers synergies between semiconductors and pillar industries. The Ningbo GiantOhm Micro Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. collaborated with automakers to develop anti-sulfuration automotive-grade resistors, replacing imported components for NEV powertrains, accelerating project partnerships through government mediation. The PN Junction Semiconductor’s self-developed SiC MOS chips have been installed in over 2 million NEVs.
Innovation chains empower industrial chains. The Ningbo Research Institute of Fudan University's Wide Bandgap Institute collaborates with supply chain partners on cutting-edge research like defect characterization and component design, with multiple world-class projects entering proof-of-concept stage. Zhejiang's Green Intelligent Automotive Innovation Center developed dual-core heterogeneous automotive MCUs ("smart brains"), accelerating industrialization this year.
Platforms like Digital Economy Industrial Park provide customized supply chain financing and pioneer "production upon investment" approval models to expedite project implementation.
