DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Launch of Phase 2 of the Applied Materials-NUS Advanced Materials Corporate Lab

Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National University of Singapore

Professor Tan Eng Chye, President, NUS

Dr Satheesh Kuppurao, Group Vice President, Semiconductor Products Group, Applied Materials

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am very happy to join NUS, Applied Materials and all your partners here today to launch this second phase of the Applied Materials-NUS Advanced Materials Corporate Lab.

Almost exactly six years ago, I launched Phase 1 of this Corporate Lab on 25 October 2018!

So launching Phase 2 today is a celebration of an anniversary, a celebration of the progress that you have achieved, and the beginning of a new chapter.

You heard from Eng Chye and Satheesh about the achievements and progress made during Phase 1 of the Corporate Lab, such as the novel mask and etching techniques developed and the more-than-50 patents filed. Congratulations!

I should add that as Chairman of the National Research Foundation, this only prompts me to set even higher expectations for what you will achieve in Phase 2.

Since 2018, when we launched Phase 1, the world has seen significant transformations across all technological areas, especially in advanced manufacturing and semiconductors. And the coming waves of change will bring even greater impact.

So this partnership between NUS and Applied Materials must ride these coming waves.

Looking back, electronics has been a major area of focus for Singapore since we began our industrialisation journey in the 1970s.

Over the years, the sector has kept pace with both advances in technology and evolving global demand.

Today, electronics is the largest cluster within Singapore’s manufacturing sector, accounting for more than 9% of Singapore’s GDP.

The electronics sector hires more than 60,000 workers – more than 16% of our total manufacturing workforce.

In semiconductors specifically, we have invested over the years to steadily build up our capabilities.

Starting primarily with assembly and testing, we have developed an ecosystem with activities across the semiconductor value chain – from semiconductor equipment manufacturing to integrated circuits design, wafer fabrication, packaging and testing.

In this journey, we have collaborated with like-minded partners from around the world. And Applied Materials has been a valuable partner.

You first established a presence in Singapore in 1991, primarily to serve customers in Southeast Asia by providing sales and customer support.

In the 33 years since, you have grown your footprint to include advanced equipment manufacturing, research and product development and other global corporate functions.

Singapore is now a strategic and principal location for Applied Materials, serving as your regional headquarters for Southeast Asia.

Today, rapid changes are transforming the global semiconductor industry, as in many other sectors.

In an increasingly digital and digitalised world, semiconductors are essential to powering and enabling our daily lives – at home, at work, and in essential services like healthcare and transport.

The concurrent green transition, to build a more sustainable future, will demand even more innovation in semiconductors.

This is reflected in the demand projections for semiconductors that many are forecasting today.

In 2023, global semiconductor sales stood at approximately US$530 billion. By 2030, in just 6 years’ time, sales are expected to hit US$1 trillion.

But building a smarter, safer, greener and healthier world will not just require more semiconductor chips. It will also require more advanced chips that have greater computing power and are more energy efficient.

To fully realise the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, and to drive more complex applications like the Internet of Things, the industry is already experimenting with new techniques and materials solutions to overcome the physical limitations of Moore’s law.

Fully realising this impact at scale – both meeting the rising demand for chips, and harnessing innovation to produce more powerful and productive chips – will require close global cooperation.

This makes trusted and reliable partnerships, like the one Singapore and Applied Materials have built, all the more valuable.

Satheesh earlier mentioned that Applied Materials has a “Singapore 2030” plan. Singapore has a “Manufacturing 2030” plan too.

We aim to increase the value-add of the manufacturing sector by 50% between 2020 and 2030.

The semiconductor and electronics vertical is a key enabler of this aspiration.

And Applied Materials and Singapore do not only share similar sounding plans.

We are also like-minded in how we position ourselves in the global semiconductor ecosystem.

In particular, we both think ahead, anticipate the coming waves of change, and consciously build capabilities to seize opportunities and overcome challenges.

This is reflected in our practical collaborations – the collaborative innovation that Satheesh spoke about – building on each other’s strengths over the years, including in research and development.

Since 2011, Applied Materials has partnered A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics through the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Packaging.

Just last month, you also launched an Applied Materials-A*STAR Joint Lab for Applied Process Equipment Accelerator, or APEX in short.

Through this lab, you will collaborate with different A*STAR institutes on developing innovative, cost-effective solutions for semiconductor equipment and to enhance capabilities in the local semiconductor ecosystem.

This Phase 2 of the Advanced Materials Corporate Lab is a new and exciting step forward in Singapore’s collaborative journey with Applied Materials.

As we heard earlier, in Phase 1, the lab focused your research at the individual process level, pursuing innovations in materials process technologies for the semiconductor industry to enable breakthroughs in chip manufacturing.

In Phase 2, as Eng Chye mentioned, the focus will be on industry-scale solutions.

Building on your progress during Phase 1, research will now be focused on integrated processes and interface engineering, to enhance the readiness of materials for industry use.

This shift of focus is very timely, to meet the growing and increasingly complex demand for semiconductors.

So let me also commend the team for continuing your emphasis on developing talent in this Phase 2.

In a fast-moving space like semiconductors, nurturing strong talent with deep skills confers critical advantage not only to individual companies but also the wider ecosystem.

This is challenging, given the depth of expertise that is required for technological breakthroughs.

One way of developing this deep talent is to promote greater porosity between industry and academia.

By enabling individuals and teams to go back and forth between industry and academia, we can nurture talent who can do deep research, and at the same time understand the demands in industry.

Applied Materials has been a close partner in developing talent in our research ecosystem, including by supporting the Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP).

This Corporate Lab has made tangible contributions to talent development over the past 6 years.

In Phase 1, the lab trained more than 70 researchers, students and engineers, and also supported scholarships for 6 PhD candidates under the IPP. Collectively, this has helped to build NUS’ capabilities in advanced materials research.

And I am happy to hear that Phase 2 will further deepen efforts to draw in and develop talent.

Eng Chye earlier announced the establishment of the “Applied Materials Professorship” at NUS.

Through this Professorship, NUS will bring in top-tier global talent to pursue research and also groom next-generation of semiconductor talent.

It is also commendable that Applied Materials and NUS will work together to co-develop new educational and training programmes, including a Masters in Semiconductor Technology and Operations.

This will support the development of a broader pool of specialist talent.

As you take your partnership further forward through Phase 2 of this Corporate Lab, I would also encourage Applied Materials and NUS to consider how your collaboration can further enhance the wider semiconductor ecosystem here in Singapore.

In Phase 1, the lab successfully partnered with 2 small-and-medium enterprises for characterisation and solution seeding.

In this next chapter, I trust that you will broaden your reach to include even more collaborators, including some of the very exciting startups in the semiconductor sector, and bring in even more new ideas and innovations.

In conclusion, let me once again congratulate Applied Materials and NUS, as well as all the other partners, on this milestone.

As a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise, Singapore welcomes opportunities to work together with like-minded partners globally, such as Applied Materials and others, to seize new advances and opportunities in technology for the betterment of lives around the world.

I am confident that you will build on the good work done in Phase 1, and I look forward to even stronger collaboration and breakthroughs from this Corporate Lab in Phase Two in the years ahead.

Thank you very much.