DENSO introduces strategy to maximise its ‘Green’ and ‘Peace of Mind’ fields

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To evolve from ‘a Tier 1 supplier that supports the auto industry’, to ‘a Tier 1 supplier that supports a mobility-centred society’ and to create value for more diverse customers, DENSO recognises that it will have to address three initiatives. To promote these initiatives, it will recruit new employees in the electrification and software field, and actively shift its employees from the mature field to the electrification and software fields and also strengthen about 4,000 employees during the four years from 2022 to 2025.

• The contribution to ‘the evolution of mobility’

In the ‘Green’ field, the environment, in addition to DENSO’s product line up in the ‘horizontal’ direction to enable installation in HEVs, PHEVs, BEVs, and FCEVs, the line up will be expanded in the ‘vertical direction, ranging from large systems, which link electrification products with energy management, to components, including power modules, in order to meet the needs of various customers as BEVs proliferate, so helping to achieve carbon neutrality in respective countries.

In the ‘Peace of Mind’ field, in addition to around-vehicle monitoring systems, DENSO will focus on driver status monitoring systems and cloud-based large systems, which connect with the social infrastructure. Through these efforts, it will help eliminate fatalities.

Furthermore, it will extend its commitment to ‘the evolution of mobility’ to help realise more freedom of traveling and expand the possibilities of mobility.

• The challenge to ‘create new value’

DENSO has been studying the possibility of developing and commercialising many technologies in non-mobility fields, including energy, food and agriculture, and the circular economy. As a result, it plans to market energy system products, such as Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell*¹ and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell*², during 2024 and beyond.

• Strengthening semiconductors and software

In terms of semiconductors, DENSO will actively invest about 500 billion yen by 2030 and triple the scale of the business from the current level by 2035. To expand production, it must ensure stable procurement of materials and will therefore forge strategic partnerships with various companies.

In the software field, it will accelerate the planning of electronic platform and over-the-air technology development, based on user needs, while strengthening partnerships with various customers and promote integrated development across companies. It will also increase the number of software engineers and improve their skills, as well as integrate two group companies, which have excellent proprietary technologies, into DENSO. One is NSITEXE, which specialises in semiconductor intellectual property, and the other is AUBASS, which specialises in developing basic in-vehicle software. It will also double the speed of development by applying specialized AI, which incorporates the knowledge and experience gained through in-vehicle software.

The draft of the full speech and images of the press conference can be viewed at:
https://www.denso.com/global/en/about-us/corporate-info/press-info/

^*1 SOEC (Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell): Fuel cells that generate electricity and heat through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and other fuels and oxygen.

^*2 SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell): Equipment that operates at high temperatures using ceramic membranes as electrolytes to electrolyze water vapor and produce hydrogen.

About DENSO CORPORATION

Globally headquartered in Kariya, Japan, DENSO is a $47.9 billion leading mobility supplier that develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, DENSO invests in around 200 facilities worldwide to provide opportunities for rewarding careers and to produce cutting-edge electrification, powertrain, thermal and mobility electronics products, among others, that change how the world moves. In developing such solutions, the company’s 165,000 global employees are paving the way to a mobility future that improves lives, eliminates traffic accidents, and preserves the environment. DENSO spent around 9.0 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. For more information about DENSO’s operations worldwide, visit https://www.denso.com/global.