▲ST·GF's new crawler plant under construction (Photo: ST)

ST·GF to jointly operate new plant to meet European and global demand
French government to invest billions of euros with massive financial support

As the importance of the semiconductor supply chain is emphasized, competition among each country to attract semiconductor companies is heating up. Among them, construction of a new factory by a global semiconductor company is underway in France, which is expected to provide momentum to foster the semiconductor industry in Europe.

STMicroelectronics (ST) announced on the 14th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with global semiconductor manufacturing company GlobalFoundries (GF) to build and jointly operate a new 12-inch semiconductor manufacturing facility near ST's existing 12-inch (300mm) factory in Crolles, France.

The facility is expected to be able to produce up to 620,000 12-inch wafers per year once the full expansion is completed, with the goal of reaching full production capacity by 2026. Through this, ST and GF are focusing on expanding their production capacity for European and global customers.

It is said that the new plant being built by ST and GF will receive large-scale financial support from the French government. There is also analysis that the European Chips Act, which aims for Europe to reach 20% of global semiconductor production by 2030, is being effectively implemented.

The recent announcement of a R&D collaboration between ST, GF, CEA-Leti, and Soitec is expected to be a positive factor in revitalizing Europe’s semiconductor technology ecosystem, with large-scale investments in advanced semiconductor manufacturing over many years.

ST will provide additional production capacity based on advanced technologies to European and global customers targeting key end markets with high growth potential, including automotive, industrial, IoT, and communications infrastructure.

ST also said that once completed, the new manufacturing facility in Kroll will create approximately 1,000 additional jobs, as well as additional jobs across the ecosystem including partners, suppliers and stakeholders.

In particular, it will support related technologies such as GF’s industry-leading FDX technology, including FD-SOI-based technology, and ST’s technology roadmap up to 18nm process. FD-SOI technology originated in Grenoble, France, and is part of ST’s technology and product roadmap at the Kroll plant. It was later differentiated and commercialized for manufacturing at GF's Dresden, Germany plant.

FD-SOI enables the integration of additional features such as RF connectivity, millimeter wave (mmWave), and security, along with ultra-low power consumption, ST explained.

ST and GF will work together to accelerate the global semiconductor supply capacity demand by leveraging the economies of scale of the crawl space and achieving high capital efficiency.

“Working with GF will enable us to reduce risk, accelerate our progress and advance the European FD-SOI ecosystem,” said Jean-Marc Chery, CEO of ST. “This will provide us with greater production capacity to support our European and global customers in their digitalization and decarbonization transition.”

He also emphasized that “ST is building on its manufacturing base by innovating its 12-inch wafer fab in Crolles, France, which will be further strengthened by the new manufacturing facility.”

ST said it is continuing to invest in its new 12-inch wafer fab in Agrate, near Milan, Italy, and in its vertically integrated silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) manufacturing, which it expects to peak in the first half of 2023 and reach full saturation by the end of 2025.

“Customers are looking for broader access to 22FDX production capacity to support automotive and industrial applications,” said Thomas Caulfield, GF CEO. “This new manufacturing facility provides GF with dedicated foundry production capacity.”

“This plant, which expands new manufacturing capabilities, will be located at ST’s existing crawl space,” he said. “We will jointly operate by utilizing the infrastructure of the facility,” he added, adding, “We will secure additional production capacity in a highly capital-efficient manner based on the 22FDX platform.”

Through this announcement, GF is expected to expand its presence in the European semiconductor ecosystem and strengthen its position in the semiconductor foundry industry in Europe.

Attention is focused on whether cooperation between global semiconductor companies and the French government will continue to expand the semiconductor ecosystem in Europe.