The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, stated that the creation of a joint venture between the Brazilian company Tellescom and a Malaysian partner for semiconductor production is currently under development. The information was revealed first-hand to BdF during the visit of the Brazilian delegation to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where President Lula signed a series of agreements with the Asian country. According to the minister, the partnership should strengthen the revival of Brazil’s national chip industry and pave the way for the country to participate more actively in this global supply chain, considered strategic.
A joint venture is a partnership between companies that come together to develop joint projects, sharing investments, technologies, and results. In the case of Brazil and Malaysia, the goal is to create a new technological route aimed at producing chips used in electric and hybrid vehicles and in equipment related to the energy transition. The initiative is connected to the revival of the National Center for Advanced Electronic Technology (Ceitec) by the government, a Brazilian state-owned company that had been privatized under the Bolsonaro administration and is now back in operation with a focus on innovation and technological sovereignty.
During Lula’s visit, Brazil and Malaysia signed five cooperation agreements in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, including topics such as semiconductors, digital transformation, bioeconomy, and space cooperation.
In an exclusive interview with BdF, Minister Luciana Santos also highlighted Brazil’s potential in the production of rare earth elements, a group of 17 chemical elements essential for manufacturing motors, batteries, and electronic equipment. Brazil has the second-largest reserve of these substances in the world, behind only China. In this regard, the minister stressed the creation of the National Council on Mineral Policy (CNPM), directly connected to the Presidency of the Republic. The council was created with the objective of ensuring that this natural resource is explored with a focus on scientific development and sustainability, avoiding dependence on imports and the privatization of reserves.
Read the interview
BdF – Semiconductor production has become one of the most important geopolitical issues of our time. Brazil has just signed a cooperation agreement on semiconductors with Malaysia, which is becoming an important chip production hub. It was even highlighted by the minister that Malaysia is currently the sixth-largest chip producer in the world.
Luciana Santos – Last week, there was a collapse in the global semiconductor supply chain that shut down some factories. This reveals that, even if some countries are ahead in semiconductor production, no country in the world can give up technological control in this area. Of course, each at its own stage of development and proficiency, but we cannot be excluded from this supply chain.
Furthermore, we have the minerals, and we have the possibility, due to our natural vocations, our reserves, and in this sense, we revived Ceitec, which was the only semiconductor factory in Brazil and was privatized by the previous government. With this, we stimulate the entire ecosystem that involves the private company Tellescom, in this effort with Malaysia, as well as our research and development laboratories. In the semiconductor sector, we highlight Eldorado, which is a private technology park operating in this area. We have the Renato Archer Information Technology Center, which is our research unit, part of the ministry itself.
And we have the Brazilian Microelectronics Association, tied to semiconductors, and the National Association of Electrical and Electronic Industry, PNEE. With this, we do what is essential for any innovation result, which is delivering a product and service to people as a solution. Because we are implementing the triple helix strategy, bringing together private initiative, academia, and the State in a joint effort to leverage Malaysia’s expertise, as you said, the sixth-largest exporter, and create synergy.
In this context, we have already sent two missions here to Malaysia during our administration and we are moving full steam ahead through CI, which is a program for innovative microelectronics that has already enabled the arrival of eight engineers who have been taking a training course for two months. President Lula visited them, took pictures. Next week, they will return to Brazil. They are being trained in device technologies, as part of Ceitec’s new technological route.
Ceitec has expertise in chips for animal traceability, vehicle chips for private roads, passport chips, and heritage tagging chips.
And we are reviving this expertise. But in addition to resuming previous expertise, we are installing a new industrial plant, a new technological route, to enter the automotive transition with chips for electric or hybrid vehicles, which is Brazil’s main option, and also for the energy transition, due to Brazil’s leadership in this area.
So we are developing a technological route based on our possibilities, on the choices we must make. For our chips, we will even use silicon carbide, which is more efficient. What is developed here in Malaysia uses gallium nitride.
We are going to validate the gallium nitride experience, and they will validate ours, creating synergy. Because both aim to use power devices, which serve the energy transition and the automotive transition. So this is a very promising experience. It may even become a joint venture, which was not announced here because it is still under construction. But for you, I will say first-hand that there is movement in this direction, to create a joint venture between Tellescom and the Malaysian company.
And there are 30 engineers currently being trained. This group of eight did not include women, but there are participants from Paraíba and São Paulo, and most are from Rio Grande do Sul, because the program originated there due to Ceitec.
There is also Tecnopuc, which is a federal technology park in Rio Grande do Sul, coordinated by a woman, Professor Fernanda. I am very excited about this. It may be the country, in this semiconductor area, that is at the most advanced stage of international cooperation.
So far you have talked a lot about training Brazilian engineers here. But does the agreement also include technology transfer? How is that being discussed?
That is always what we seek. Either through co-development, which is a very efficient way to accelerate the learning curve, or technology transfer.
These two are always requirements we include. Now, in addition to this, we signed two more memorandums with Malaysia.
We signed a broader cooperation memorandum in several areas that challenge nations: digital transformation, energy transition, bioeconomy. And another memorandum on semiconductors in the space sector, with the National Institute for Space Research, to assist us in satellite energy distribution through electronic devices. So, among the five cooperation agreements and memorandums President Lula signed in Malaysia, three were from our ministry. In addition to Inpe and Eldorado, we also have the active participation of CTI Renato Archer, linked to our ministry and located in São Paulo, as part of the ecosystem involved in this process. And Mimos, which is Malaysia’s National Research and Development Center in semiconductors and microelectronics in general.
So you have already addressed the second question, which was about other agreements. You already mentioned the other agreements here in Malaysia. And in Indonesia, what would you highlight as important in this area of science and technology?
We have many similarities with Indonesia. The forest is undoubtedly the first. So we are offering our expertise in forest monitoring. We have successful mathematical models. We are offering Indonesia the possibility of this partnership in the space sector, which would involve our satellite constellation that monitors forests, so we can share images with Indonesian satellites, creating mutual learning. And we are also working on monitoring our forests, which will help address Brazil’s biggest factor in greenhouse gas emissions: deforestation.
So that is another challenge, also rooted in forest issues: developing sustainable actions through NIB, which is bioeconomy. It is about how we can leverage biodiversity for sustainable development, using the diversity of our biomes. So in Indonesia, we have these two lines of cooperation.
Brazil holds the world’s second-largest reserve of rare earth elements, the second-largest nickel reserves, the first is Indonesia, and we have important reserves of other critical minerals. What type of planning is the Brazilian government developing to take historical advantage of this natural asset? And are there efforts to expand geological monitoring of the country, considering that today we only know about 30% of our underground wealth?
Yes, in addition to identifying and diagnosing, which must be included in a broader plan, Brazil had begun outlining a national strategy in 2012 for how to manage this vast patrimony of the Brazilian people, which today is decisive for various uses in electronic equipment, permanent magnets, etc. The curious aspect of rare earths is that what is “rare” is the chemical properties of these elements. They are a family of 17 chemical elements, the lanthanides, with special optical, magnetic, and electronic properties.
This means we use them in smartphones, motors, batteries. Everything around us contains rare earth elements. From what we currently know, it is estimated that we have 50 million tons of oxide in rare earth reserves.
There are three states with the most significant reserves: Amazonas, Goiás, and Minas Gerais. We have a manufacturing plant in Minas Gerais that Governor Zema put up for auction to privatize, and we fought against it being sold internationally.
Fortunately, it was purchased by Fieng, the Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais, and transferred to the S system, to Senai. We were relieved by that solution.
And we have Serra Verde, which is also in a manufacturing phase with rare earths. The most difficult part of rare earth development is separating them in nature, it requires complex technology. Our research unit, Cetem (Center for Mineral Technology), already holds a patent in rare earth separation.
Another mechanism we want to develop is called the circular economy, which involves extracting rare earth elements from industrial waste. So this is also another technological challenge, using not only industrial waste, but also fertilizer waste, especially phosphates, which contain rare earth elements.
So the president decided to create a national rare earth council, directly linked to the presidency. And we will have an active role, because we have at least seven high-level laboratories, including one at my own university, where I studied electrical engineering.
So the materials physics professors, the former minister participates in this research. We have UFMG, USP, Cetem, and Sirius, which is our National Synchrotron Light Laboratory. They also have rare earth research facilities.
In Brazil, we have around 500 specialists in this field. And we want to strengthen our capabilities to create a network, a program that can offer answers based on our natural vocations, our potential, and our installed capacity to deliver concrete results. To join what is the great challenge of nations beyond technological mastery: having manufactured products so we can enter strongly, as we say in Pernambuco, into this contemporary challenge.
Regarding rare earths, we know that China is currently responsible for 70% of mining and nearly 90% of refining. Is there any discussion or possibility of technology transfer agreements with China to advance Brazil’s own production?
The memorandums of understanding we have with China form a very advanced umbrella, but we have nothing concrete in this specific challenge. We have many initiatives with China in the space sector, especially satellites. It is the most relevant thing in the space field. Now we are working on our first Brazilian geostationary satellite, which will be developed with China.
In this case, technology transfer has already been agreed upon, but specifically in the rare earth sector, not yet.
Finally, regarding geological mapping of Brazil, is the government taking action?
Yes, it is on our radar. Within a more ambitious policy on rare earths, this survey will be conducted.
