GF and ST finalise deal for new French 300mm semiconductor fab
GlobalFoundries and STMicroelectronics have concluded the agreement to create a new, jointly-operated, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facility in Crolles, France, which was announced during the summer last year.
“In partnership with ST in Crolles, we are further expanding GF’s presence within Europe’s dynamic technology ecosystem while benefiting from economies of scale to deliver additional capacity in a highly capital efficient manner. Together we will deliver GF’s market leading FDX technology and ST’s comprehensive technology roadmap, in alignment with customer demand which is expected to remain high for Automotive, IoT, and Mobile applications over the next decades,” says Dr. Thomas Caulfield, President and CEO of GlobalFoundries in a press release.
The program represents an overall projected cost of EUR 7.5 billion for CAPEX, maintenance and ancillary costs. The new facility will benefit from significant financial support from the State of France, administered by Bpifrance. The aid measure, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act and part of the “France 2030” plan, recently received approval from the European Commission.
“Today marks an important milestone for ST, for GF as well as for Europe. This could not have been achieved without the support of the French government as well as of the European Commission,” says Jean-Marc Chery, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics. “We will further reinforce the European and French FD-SOI ecosystem, building more capacity for our European and global customers in complex, advanced technologies for key end-markets including automotive, industrial, IoT and communication infrastructure, as they transition to digitalization and decarbonisation. This new manufacturing facility will support our $20 billion+ revenue ambition.”
The two chipmakers announced their intention to build the new manufacturing facility in July last summer. The new, jointly-operated 300mm facility, is set to be built adjacent to ST’s existing 300mm facility in Crolles, France. The facility is targeted to ramp at full capacity by 2026, with up to 620,000 300mm wafers per year of production at full build-out.
