National wins additional $499,000 in AB118 Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program monies from the ETP. The overall goal of AB118 is to transform California’s vehicles to meet the State’s climate change policies.

Contact: Arjun Israni – Dir. of Business Process Group and National Semiconductor University
3693 Tahoe Way
Santa Clara, CA 95052
Telephone: (408) 721-5169
Fax: (408) 721-1584
ETP Funding: $2,000,000

National Semiconductor makes integrated circuits that improve performance and energy efficiency in electronic systems with a diversified portfolio that includes power management circuits, audio and operational amplifiers, and communication interface products. National’s products are ideally situated for the electronic vehicle manufacturing industry enabling electric vehicles to consume less power, extend battery life and generate less heat. National’s management teams believe that the electric vehicle industry has reached the inflection point that the company has been waiting for, as automobile customers seek to reduce the negative impact on the environment and to save money spent on automobile fuel consumption.

National’s strategic goal is to become the leading IC manufacturer by increasing the efficiency of electric vehicles through chip set innovations in power management, sensor reliability, telematics, and infotainment. In response, National recently formed the Battery Management Systems (BMS) business unit to develop system level products and chipsets for battery monitoring and management solutions for large scale, Li-Ion based battery energy storage applications. Targeted applications for these ICs include Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (EV, PHEV, e-Bus, e-bike, e-scooter) and Li-ion based Grid Energy Storage. Company representatives state that products developed by the BMS segment have been well received resulting in new customer engagements with automotive companies such as Tesla Motors, Ford, GM, Nissan, Renault, BMW, Audi, Daimler and Volkswagen.

The proposed training is designed to address the skill gap between employees in National’s current California workforce and the skills required to design, develop, integrate, and manufacture technologies for vehicle technology markets. Rather than downsizing and outsourcing California-based jobs, the proposed training will assist National to retrain its existing California workforce in variety of new technologies to enhance product innovations and provide manufacturing solutions for the next generations of electric vehicles. This will enable National Semiconductor to compete for new customers on a global basis.