The long-term development strategy of the Russian Federation includes the task of digitalizing the economy, and one of its important parts is the introduction of smart electric networks in the life of the country. As we know, the project of universal installation of smart electricity meters has already started in Russia. Moreover, the new generation of meters will have to consist of domestic components, which causes many skepticism. In this regard, we decided to interview our experts and find out from them why it is still worth using domestic, rather than imported, component base, in particular, microcontrollers, in the production of smart meters.
Alexey Smirnov, leading design engineer of JSC NIIET»:
"In my opinion, domestic microcontrollers can and should be compared with foreign ones.
This comparison will show that despite all the difficulties of domestic microelectronics, in some areas our microcontrollers are quite competitive in price and functionality. If we take the direction of smart meters, then if the needs are more than 1 million units per year, the price of microcontrollers will be further reduced.
In General, the use of domestic ECB will reduce the dependence on foreign components in building a secure energy accounting system. Building such a system is a strategic task, and any risks associated with the use of foreign ECB should be minimized. With the reduction of the state defense Order, the reorientation of military-industrial enterprises to the civil sector of microelectronics allows them not only to stay afloat, but also to increase their competence, retain experienced personnel and create new jobs in such a high-tech field.
The feasibility of using domestic controllers in smart meters is determined by the requirements of standards, regulatory documents and, of course, the price. If it is possible to create devices with equal price and capabilities on foreign and domestic ECB, then the choice in favor of Russian electronics is quite justified."
Vladimir Smerek, Deputy head of the IMS design center:
"Starting from 2022, Russian smart metering devices should have Russian microcontrollers. These are the requirements of regulations that are already in force in our country. In addition to the functionality for measuring power consumption parameters, they must provide the level of security required in Russia for transmitted and stored data. Therefore, the use of foreign microcontrollers in smart meters after 2022 will be irrelevant.
In this regard, NIIET JSC plans to release a specialized microcontroller for energy metering systems in the near future. There are also plans to develop and release an ultra-low-power universal microcontroller for various mobile applications."
Sergey Smeshnov, commercial Director of JSC NIIET»:
"Currently, due to the growing pressure from the Western Alliance in the form of sanctions against Russia, the domestic radio electronics industry has fallen into an extremely depressing situation - it has lost access to world technologies in this area, which has already increased the tendency to lag behind in the development of Russian microelectronics in relation to world achievements and trends.
Major semiconductor manufacturers from the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Europe, and Japan, which have huge production and sales volumes, fairly set competitive/low prices for their products. While the share of domestic products in the world market now barely reaches one percent.
In order to bring the industry to a fundamentally new level, minimize, and generally avoid import substitution, the Government of the Russian Federation is implementing a supportive legislative policy.
In particular, NIIET JSC can provide the market with in-demand microcontrollers at prices comparable to foreign analogues by expanding the line of controllers for civil use in plastic cases in the near future.
We are faced with the task of developing specific microcontrollers for civilian electronic devices and memory chips.
The pricing policy for microcontrollers of JSC NIIET for the civil sector of industry will be based on the following principle: measures will be taken to conclude supply contracts with developers and manufacturers of domestic civil electronic devices, including electric energy meters, online cash registers, etc., thereby creating a pool of system pre-orders for microcontrollers, which will soon reach a wholesale price of 500 rubles per unit. Over time, having developed partnerships with a number of companies and increasing the customer base of domestic manufacturers, it is planned to reach the cost of 300 rubles per microcontroller, which will allow you to compete with imported analogues in price. This, in turn, will help ensure that manufacturers of Russian electronic devices keep loyal prices for their products."
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JSC NIIET is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic components in Russia. The company specializes in the development and production of complex microelectronics products: microcontrollers, microprocessors, digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters, interface integrated circuits, microwave transistors and microwave power amplification modules. Since 2020, the company has focused on product diversification. Currently, a number of microchips in plastic cases have been released and implemented, including unique microcontrollers that are characterized by high performance and minimal dimensions. In particular, the 32-bit microcontroller K1921VK01T, which has found its application in the civil sector and is used in smart electricity meters.
In addition, NIIET is currently the only company in Russia that is engaged in mass production and supply of GaN transistors based on silicon.
The company is part of the Element group of companies.