The world’s largest factory for semiconductors made of silicon carbide is to be built on the site.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich It’s going to be a big day for Saarland: The US company Wolfspeed will announce the construction of a new chip factory this Wednesday. CEO Gregg Lowe wants to invest more than two billion euros on the site of the former coal-fired power plant in Ensdorf. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) will be there. The Handelsblatt had already reported on this in advance.
In the future, chips made of silicon carbide (SiC) are to be produced in the factory, as required by the German automotive industry for its electric vehicles. According to information from the Handelsblatt, the supplier ZF will take a minority stake.
With the plant, Europe is at least a little closer to its goal of doubling the share of global semiconductor production to 20 percent by 2030. According to informed circles, series production should begin in four years. In addition, a joint research center will be created in which ZF holds the majority.
Wolfspeed wants to start as soon as possible in Saarland
The two companies have not yet commented on the matter. The Saarland state government also kept a low profile. An invitation to an event in the afternoon only said that it was about an “industrial policy project in the field of microelectronics” and about the future of the closed Ensdorf coal-fired power plant. The Prime Minister of Saarland, Anke Rehlinger, will also be there.
According to the Handelsblatt information, Wolfspeed wants to start construction work as soon as possible. Series production is scheduled to start in four years. However, the commitment for state subsidies is still missing. Wolfspeed’s latest plant in the USA cost around two billion dollars. According to reports, the factory in Saarland will be significantly larger and therefore more expensive.
It is good news, especially for the German car industry, that Wolfspeed has decided to have a factory in Germany. With the plant in the immediate vicinity of their European production sites, manufacturers can hope to be supplied reliably. The group from the US state of North Carolina concentrates on SiC chips like no other competitor. Silicon carbide is in demand worldwide because it could help electromobility achieve a breakthrough.
Intel has so far announced the largest investments in a new chip location in the EU. The US group wants to spend 17 billion euros on two factories in Magdeburg. Infineon is also investing five billion in an additional plant in Dresden. As with Wolfspeed, the funding commitments for these projects are still pending; the start of construction depends on this.
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