$400m for US 300mm silicon, SOI wafer plants
GlobalWafers is looking to secure $400m of funding from the US government for 300mm silicon and SOI wafer plant in Texas and Missouri.
The preliminary terms of the deal with GlobalWafers would establish the first domestic 300mm silicon and silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer plants and boost domestic production of 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) wafers as part of a $4bn investment.
The $400m direct investment under the US CHIPS Act would support the construction of new wafer manufacturing facilities and the creation of 1,700 construction jobs and 880 manufacturing jobs across both Texas and Missouri. The Texas plant was proposed in June 2022 but the 300mm SOI wafer plant in Missouri is a new proposal.
GlobalWafers to build 300mm silicon wafer megafactory in Texas
“With this proposed investment, GlobalWafers will play a crucial role in bolstering America’s semiconductor supply chain by providing a domestic source of silicon wafers that are the backbone of advanced chips,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Five companies, including GlobalWafers in Taiwan, currently hold over 80% of the global 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing market and approximately 90% of silicon wafers are sourced from East Asia today. Just 5% are produced in Europe.
The company previously tried to buy German wafer maker Siltronic and is planning a 300mm silicon wafer plant in Italy with financial support form the European Chips Act.
The proposed CHIPS investment would see GlobalWafers America (GWA) establish the first 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing facility for advanced chips in the United States in Sherma, Texas, where Samsung and TI are also building 300mm fabs.
A plant in St Peters, Missouri, would be built to : Establish a new facility to produce 300mm SOI wafers for low power chips commonly used in defense and aerospace end uses.
GlobalWafers also plans to convert a portion of its existing silicon epitaxy wafer manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas to SiC epitaxy wafer manufacturing, producing 150mm and 200mm SiC epitaxy wafers for high voltage applications, including electric vehicles and clean energy infrastructure.
“With the support of the Biden Administration, we are honored to be bringing to American shores the world’s most cutting-edge 300mm semiconductor wafer technology, filling what the White House has called a “key vulnerability” within the U.S. semiconductor supply chain. GlobalWafers is fully committed to the US market, and we are excited to be playing a defining role in the nation’s semiconductor rebirth,” said GWA President Mark England.
The agreement is non-binding and depends on the details of a full application and due diligence. There are also sustainability requirements, and when at full ramp, the new and expanded plants in Sherman and St. Peters will recycle up to half of the water used in production and have forward plans to use 100% renewable energy to manufacture the wafers.
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