Cyril Fernandes, SVP Global Business Development, Vexos

Digital transformation continues unabated, despite global uncertainties and an inflationary climate. While the intensity may not be quite what it was during the heart of the pandemic, broadband connectivity installations – made up of 5G telecom, wi-fi, and fiber access gear – are all systems go.

Once the market moved past the supply chain challenges of the first half of 2022, deployment around the globe resumed in the latter part of the year. Developing nations, which once lagged in 5G installations, are also seeing an increased focus on infrastructure expansion.

Across all data and telecom hardware, higher-density component packages are being integrated to meet the performance demands of high-speed, high-bandwidth data processing. For Henkel's part, we have developed enabling materials to support digitalization's reliability and longevity.

Innovation in adhesives and thermal interface materials (TIMs) to support the functionality of optical networks, high-performance computing processors throughout the data center, and 5G antenna systems is taking place in our R&D centers worldwide.

The last year saw significant adoption of Henkel’s high thermal conductivity gel TIMs for 5G gear and thin bond line TIMs in the data center. This will only continue as heat dissipation remains a significant factor for optimized performance, and management of data volumes and speeds becomes more challenging. Stay tuned! Henkel will have major new solutions in this arena in 2023.