GlobalWafers bags $406 million in CHIPS Act funding
The US Department of Commerce says it will grant GlobalWafers USD 406 million in direct funding under the CHIPS Incentives Program to increase domestic production of silicon wafers.
The funds will go to GlobalWafers America (GWA) and MEMC, both US subsidiaries of the Taiwanese company. The award will support the company's planned investment of USD 4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Sherman, Texas and St. Peters, Missouri. The Department will disburse the funds based on GWA’s and MEMC’s completion of project milestones over a multi-year timeframe.
The funds will also establish the First domestic source of 300mm silicon wafers for advanced chips and expand production of 300mm Silicon-on-Insulator wafers, a press release reads.
“The semiconductor wafers that will be produced here in the U.S. because of this investment in GlobalWafers are the foundation of the advanced chips that will help us out-innovate and out-compete the rest of the world,” says U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “As a result of this investment, CHIPS for America is working to strengthen our supply chains, protect our national and economic security, and create an estimated over 2,000 jobs across Texas and Missouri.”
These CHIPS investments will support projects with total capital expenditures of approximately USD 4 billion across Texas and Missouri, helping to strengthen the domestic supply chain for key semiconductor components. The awards will directly support the construction of wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri and is expected to create approximately 1,700 construction jobs and 880 manufacturing jobs across both states.
Starting in H1 2025, GWA in Texas will be the first high-volume advanced 300mm silicon wafer facility in the US. During the same time, from the first half of next year, The MEMC facility in Missouri will serve as a key domestic production site for 300mm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers – SOI wafers from this facility will be a key input for devices used across the defence and aerospace sectors.
Further, as part of award terms, GlobalWafers has agreed to convert a portion of its existing silicon epitaxy wafer manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas, to silicon carbide epitaxy wafer manufacturing.
“Starting next year and for the first time in over 20 years, the U.S. will again be home to advanced wafers for leading-edge integrated circuits. Our new facilities will fill a key vulnerability in the U.S. supply chain and bring back to American shores the technology that was pioneered here over 60 years ago,” says GlobalWafers’ President Mark England in a press release. “As the only global wafer manufacturer participating in the CHIPS for America Program, we are fully committed to supporting the nation’s semiconductor manufacturing rebirth.”
