€100m joint venture for high volume power wafer production in France
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Polymatech and the ECM Group are setting up a €100m joint venture in Grenoble, France, for high volume production of sapphire ingots and wafers as well as silicon carbide and silicon.
This is Polymatech’s second semiconductor wafer co-investment project and will use equipment from both Polymatech and ECM Group. Grenoble is home to CEA-Leti, one of the world’s top five semiconductor research centres and is expending its silicon on insulator (SoI) fab.
The initiative is the first manufacturing plant for wafer maker Polymatech in Europe as part of a plant to expand its global manufacturing footprint. Polymatech and ECM Group will make an initial joint investment of €100m, with Polymatech holding a 75% majority stake. This follows Polymatech’s earlier investment of $30 million in wafer development.
By shifting wafer fabrication to the new Grenoble facility, Polymatech will focus on redeploying high-end packaging capabilities at its Chennai plant in India.
“The Joint Venture complements Polymatech’s forward integration plans making Polymatech an End-to-End Semiconductor Company,” said Tarja Hannele Rapala Virtanen, Director of Polymatech Electronics.
“We will produce sapphire wafers, Silicon Carbide and Silicon Wafers from this French facility. The uninterrupted and high-quality electricity produced by nuclear electricity and Alps water gives us perfect quality ingots,” she added.
Production at the joint venture is slated to begin in January 2026, with an annual wafer capacity of 500,000 units. This venture marks Polymatech’s first manufacturing presence in Europe, specifically in France, in partnership with ECM Group.
ECM Group, through its subsidiary ECM Greentech, will supply the furnaces, leveraging advanced sapphire crystal growth processes. ECM Greentech will collaborate with key partners to establish a complete production line, from ingot creation to finalised wafers or specific samples.
Under the agreement, the joint venture company will fabricate wafers in Grenoble, positioning itself as a key player in meeting the growing global demand, including Polymatech’s own captive consumption needs. The joint venture will manufacture wafers for Polymatech on a cost-plus-margin basis. Under the agreement, Polymatech is committed to purchasing wafers from the joint venture for both its internal use and external customers, with minimum volume commitments following the facility’s substantial completion.
“The agreement with ECM Group provides us with additional flexibility to execute our strategy as we invest in creating the world’s most resilient and sustainable semiconductor supply chain,” said Eswara Rao Nandam, CEO of Polymatech. “Our investments in cutting-edge manufacturing capacity in both the U.S. and Europe are vital to meet the rising demand for sapphire, silicon, and silicon carbide materials, as the global semiconductor market is expected to double in size over the next five years. This joint venture allows us to partner with a renowned technology leader on favourable terms while maintaining our strong investment-grade credit rating.”
“This joint venture highlights ECM Group’s expertise in innovating and delivering state-of-the-art crystal growth equipment for high-quality semiconductor wafer production. It also emphasises our role as a trusted partner with 50 years of experience, supporting the development of the new economy, including next-generation AI technologies, which will require significant investments in sustainable power generation, data centres, foundries, and semiconductor capabilities,” said Laurent Pélissier, Founding President and CEO of ECM Group.
“France has demonstrated significant appeal to foreign investors in recent years, thanks to its skilled workforce, stable legal and regulatory environment, robust infrastructure, and strong innovation support under the France 2030 initiative,” said Anis Jouini, General Manager of ECM Greentech.
www.polymatech.com; www.groupe-ecm.com/; ecm-greentech.fr/
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