On June 7th, STMicroelectronics and Sanan Optoelectronics announced that they plan to invest $3.2 billion (approximately RMB 22.8 billion) to jointly build an 8-inch silicon carbide epitaxial and chip foundry. The new joint venture intends to be located in Chongqing. However, the above projects still require regulatory approval.
According to the announcement of San'an Optoelectronics, Hunan San'an Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hunan San'an"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, and STMicroelectronics (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "STMicroelectronics") are the main investors of the joint venture. The joint venture company is expected to invest a total amount of 3.2 billion US dollars, which will be gradually invested according to the progress needs of the joint venture company. The registered capital of the joint venture is 612 million US dollars. Hunan San'an holds 51% of the shares, and STMicroelectronics holds 49% of the shares. All of them are contributed in monetary capital by stages.
It is worth noting that the new joint venture is similar to the OEM factory specially set up for STMicroelectronics International N.V. (hereinafter referred to as "ST International"). The announcement shows that the joint venture company uses the intellectual property rights agreed by ST International to manufacture silicon carbide wafers and only sells them to the exclusive purchaser ST International (or any entity designated by ST International). The project is expected to complete phased construction and gradually put into production by 2025. It will reach production in 2028, with a planned production capacity of 10000 8-inch silicon carbide wafers per week.
In addition, Sanan Optoelectronics will utilize its own silicon carbide substrate process to build and operate a new 8-inch silicon carbide substrate manufacturing plant separately to meet the substrate needs of the joint venture plant. The planned annual production of 8-inch silicon carbide substrates is 480000 pieces.
"The establishment of the joint venture will strongly promote the widespread adoption of silicon carbide devices in the Chinese market." Lin Kechuang, CEO of San'an Optoelectronics, said that this is an important step towards the company's goal of becoming a professional silicon carbide wafer foundry.
San'an Optoelectronics also said that this cooperation reflects the strength of the company's silicon carbide business in the international market, promotes the market application of the company's silicon carbide products in new energy vehicles, Charging station, photovoltaic power generation, high-voltage transmission and other fields, and strengthens the company's ability to deliver products and serve customers.
STMicroelectronics is a globally renowned IDM analog chip manufacturer. STMicroelectronics has been actively promoting its silicon carbide business. Yifa previously predicted that the silicon carbide business would generate approximately $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023, widely distributed among major customers, with an increase from the previously estimated $1 billion.
Jean Marc Chery, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics, stated, "The new joint venture factory will help the company achieve its goal of generating over $5 billion in silicon carbide revenue by 2030.