STMicroelectronics, a leading global semiconductor manufacturer serving customers in a variety of electronic applications, and GlobalFoundries Inc., a leading global manufacturer of multifunctional semiconductors, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to create a new, jointly operated 300mm semiconductor manufacturer. The factory is adjacent to ST’s existing 300mm factory in Crolles, France. The fab is scheduled to reach full capacity by 2026, producing up to 620,000 300mm wafers (~42% ST and ~58% GF) per year at full capacity.
ST and GF are committed to building capabilities for their European and global customer bases. This new facility will support multiple technologies, especially those based on FD-SOI, and will cover multiple variants. These include GF’s market-leading FDX technology and ST’s comprehensive technology roadmap down to 18nm, which is expected to remain high in demand for automotive, IoT and mobile applications for decades to come.
FD-SOI technology originated in the Grenoble region in France. It was part of ST’s technology and product roadmap at the Crolles plant from the start, and was later activated through differentiation and commercialized at GF’s Dresden plant. FD-SOI offers designers and customers significant advantages, including ultra-low power consumption and easier integration of other functions such as RF connectivity, mmWave, and security.
ST and GF will receive substantial financial support from the French government for the new facility. The facility will make a significant contribution to the goals of the European chip law, including the European goal of reaching 20% of world semiconductor production by 2030. In addition to a significant multi-year investment in advanced semiconductor manufacturing in Europe, it will support the leadership and resilience of the European R&D technology ecosystem (recently announced R&D collaboration between ST, GF, CEA-Leti and Soitec). Volume manufacturing, providing European and global customers with additional complex, advanced technology capabilities to support key end markets such as automotive, industrial, IoT and communications infrastructure. The new production facility will make a significant contribution to global digitalization and green transformation and will provide key technologies and products. It will create additional jobs at the ST Crolles facility (adding around 1,000 employees to the new manufacturing facility) and across the ecosystem of partners, suppliers and stakeholders.
Through the partnership, STMicroelectronics and GF will leverage the economies of scale of the Crolles facility to accelerate global semiconductor capacity demand with high capital efficiency.
“This new manufacturing facility will support our sales target of over $20 billion. Partnering with GF will allow us to move faster, lower risk thresholds and strengthen the European FD-SOI ecosystem. President and CEO, STMicroelectronics Jean-Marc Chery said: “We will have a greater capacity to support our European and global customers in their digital and decarbonised transformation. “ST is revamping its manufacturing base. Our 300mm fab in Crolles, France already has a unique position and today’s announcement further strengthens that position. We will continue to invest in our new 300mm fab in Agrate, near Milan, Italy, which will be ramped up in the first half of 2023 and expected to be fully saturated by the end of 2025, as well as in our vertically integrated SiC and Gallium Nitride – Production. ”
“Our customers are looking for a wide range of 22FDX® capacity for automotive and industrial applications. The new facility will include GF’s unique and innovative dedicated GF casting capacity for our customers and will be managed by on-site GF staff. This joint operation of new manufacturing capacity The expansion leverages ST Crolles’ existing facility infrastructure, allowing GF to accelerate our growth while benefiting from economies of scale, delivering additional capacity in a highly capital-efficient manner on our differentiated 22FDX platform, which is more than $100 million Chip delivery. With today’s announcement, we are expanding GF’s presence in Europe’s vibrant technology ecosystem and strengthening our position as Europe’s leading semiconductor foundry.” GF CEO Thomas Caulfield. “Our global footprint enables GF to not only meet our customers’ capacity needs, but also provide them with supply chain security. Co-investments with the French government, as well as our long-term customer contracts, create the right economic model for GF’s investments. ”
The project requires the signing of a definitive agreement and various regulatory approvals, including the European Commission’s DG Competition, as well as the completion of negotiations with ST’s French Works Council.
