Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!
This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.
In this episode, Jenny Gladman and Ric Ashworth-Lord are joined by Dr Ryan Hatcher, CEO & Founder at Phoenix Semiconductor - a leader working at the intersection of advanced electronics, supply chain resilience and critical infrastructure.
While much of the spotlight falls on cutting-edge chips, Ryan brings attention to a less visible but equally critical layer: legacy semiconductors. These “older” technologies underpin everything from energy systems and transport to defence and data centres - yet their supply chains are increasingly fragile, overlooked, and difficult to replace.
Drawing on experience across Samsung, Lockheed Martin and now Phoenix Semiconductor, Ryan explains why mature-node manufacturing has become strategically important, how decades of optimisation have exposed systemic vulnerabilities, and why resilience across the full semiconductor ecosystem is now essential.
From supply chain shocks and obsolescence risk to the realities of scaling manufacturing and securing long-term capacity, this conversation shines a light on the infrastructure beneath the infrastructure.
01:02 - Introduction to Ryan
02:03 - What exactly are legacy semiconductors, and why are they so critical to modern infrastructure?
04:29 - How does legacy semiconductor manufacturing underpin energy and digital infrastructure, and why has supply chain fragility become such a constraint on growth?
08:29 - What led you to found Phoenix, and why is mature node manufacturing now so strategically important and often misunderstood?
13:44 - Why can’t mature node manufacturing capacity scale when demand spikes, and what’s exposed the fragility in the system in recent years?
18:23 - Why do even well-capitalised companies delay addressing predictable supply chain risks?
22:21 - How should leaders think about geographic risk in mature node production, and will securing manufacturing capacity become a competitive advantage?
26:47 - Looking ahead five years, what does a truly resilient semiconductor ecosystem look like, and what role does Phoenix play in building it?
Connect with your hosts, Jenny Gladman and Ric Ashworth-Lord, on LinkedIn.
Find your guest, Dr Ryan Hatcher, on LinkedIn.
Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.
This is a Loaded Hype production.
