STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor supplier serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, and Global Foundries Inc., a resource-rich semiconductor manufacturer, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a new 300mm semiconductor fab operated jointly adjacent to ST's existing 300mm installations in Crolles, France.
This facility is expected to reach full capacity by 2026, with production of up to 620,000 300mm wafers per year at full expansion (~42% ST and ~58% GF).
ST and GF are committed to developing capabilities for their European and global customer base. This new facility will support several technologies, in particular FD-SOI-based technologies, and will cover multiple variants. This includes GF's FDX technology and ST's comprehensive technology roadmap up to 18nm, which are expected to remain in high demand for automotive, IoT and mobile applications for decades to come.
FD-SOI technology originates in the Grenoble area (France). It has been part of the ST technology and product roadmap at its Crolles facility since the beginning, and was later enabled with differentiation and commercialized for manufacturing at the GF facility in Dresden. FD-SOI offers substantial benefits to designers and customers, including ultra-low power consumption as well as easier integration of additional features such as RF , mmWave and security connectivity.
ST and GF will receive significant financial support from the French State for the new facility. This mechanism will strongly contribute to the objectives of the European Chip Act, including the goal of Europe reaching 20% of global semiconductor production by 2030. In addition to the considerable, multi-year investment in advanced semiconductor production in Europe, it will support the leadership and resilience of European technology ecosystems – from R&D (with the recently announced R&D cooperation between ST, GF, CEA-Leti and Soitec) to high-volume manufacturing, and supporting European and global customers with additional capacity in complex and advanced technologies for key end markets, including automotive, industrial, IoT and communications infrastructure.
The new production facility will contribute substantially to global digital and green transformations – providing essential enabling technologies and products. It will generate additional jobs at the ST Crolles facility (approximately 1,000 additional employees for the new production facility) and across its ecosystem of partners, suppliers and stakeholders.
“This new manufacturing facility will support our revenue ambition of over $20 billion. Working with GF will allow us to move faster, lower risk thresholds and strengthen the European FD-SOI ecosystem. We will be better able to support our European and global customers as they transition to digitalization and decarbonization,” said Jean-Marc Chery , President and CEO of STMicroelectronics. “ST is transforming its manufacturing base. We already have a unique position in our 300mm wafer fab in Crolles, France, which will be further strengthened by today's announcement. We continue to invest in our new 300mm wafer fab in Agrate (near Milan, Italy), ramping up in the first half of 2023 with full saturation expected by the end of 2025, as well as in our vertically integrated silicon carbide manufacturing and gallium nitride.”
By working together, ST and GF will leverage economies of scale at the Crolles site as they accelerate the semiconductor capacity the world needs with high capital efficiency.
“Our customers are seeking broad access to 22FDX capability for automotive and industrial applications,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, CEO of GF. “The new facility will include dedicated GF foundry capacity for our customers, offering unique GF innovation, and will be managed by GF personnel on site. This new jointly operated manufacturing capacity expansion leverages ST Crolles' existing facilities infrastructure, enabling GF to accelerate our growth whilst benefiting from economies of scale to provide additional capacity in a highly capital-efficient manner across our differentiated 22FDX platform, which sent more than a billion tokens. With today’s announcement, we are expanding GF’s presence in Europe’s dynamic technology ecosystem and strengthening our position as Europe’s leading semiconductor foundry.”
