Researchers from Academia Sinica, National Central University (NCU), and Yuan Ze University announced significant advancements in hydrogen electrolysis technology at a December 17 press conference held at Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The team detailed the development of new core materials for proton-conducting solid oxide electrolysis (P-SOEL), aiming to reduce energy consumption and lower costs in hydrogen production.

South Korea’s Doosan Group has been selected as the preferred negotiation partner for the acquisition of semiconductor wafer maker SK Siltron, valued at approximately KRW4 trillion (approx. US$2.72 billion) to KRW5 trillion, according to reports from The Korea Economic Daily, The Elec, and other media outlets.

Taiwan’s printed circuit board (PCB) industry is set for robust growth in 2025, supported by strong demand from AI servers amid a weakening traditional smartphone market. The Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) highlighted that despite external uncertainties such as exchange rate fluctuations and tariff negotiations, the sector benefits from price hikes driven by tight supply of high-end materials, leading to increases in both volume and prices.

Intel has completed acceptance testing of the industry’s first commercial high-NA EUV lithography system with a numerical aperture of 0.55, the ASML Twinscan EXE:5200B, laying the foundation for mass production of its 14A process node. This milestone marks the transition of high-NA EUV technology from research and development verification to high-volume manufacturing (HVM), enabling wafer throughput of 175 per hour and reinforcing Intel’s efforts to reclaim leadership in advanced semiconductor processes.