US semiconductor companies such as Intel and Micron began to construct new plants in the US one by one. The investment for facilities has increased as the US 'CHIPS Act’ passed, which provides government subsidies for the construction of semiconductor manufacturing facilities.
Micron Technology held a groundbreaking ceremony for its advanced memory semiconductor plant in Boise, Idaho on the 12th (local time). It will begin construction early next year, produce DRAM after 2025. Micron will invest $15 billion (About KRW 20.6085 trillion) in building the Idaho plant.
Micron's investment in the Idaho plant is a plan to increase the production of DRAM to 40% of total production in the US within next 10 years. Micron anticipates memory sales to double by 2030. Although demand for DRAM has decreased in the short term, Micron determined that production expansion is necessary to meet long-term demand as artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G communication are being adopted in Markets such as data center, automobile and mobile.
It will introduce cutting edge manufacturing processes in the Idaho plant that includes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) processing equipment.
Micron revealed it finalized the location of a separate US manufacturing plant. When the US CHIPS Act came into effect last month, Micron announced that the company will invest total of $40 billion (KRW 55.12 trillion) by 2030, which also includes the construction of a plant in Idaho.
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said, “The investment was possible with the subsidy provided by the CHIPS Act. This will improve Micron supply, and establish strategic capabilities for the US.
Intel’s Ohio plant groundbreaking ceremony was held on the 9th. The ceremony for the Ohio plant was originally scheduled in July, but was put on hold indefinitely as Intel urged Congress to pass the CHIPS Act. Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger announced to resume the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ohio plant after the CHIPS Act was passed. US President Joe Biden attended the ceremony.
Intel invests $20 billion (KRW 27.494 trillion) to construct the Ohio plant. The company expects that this investment will meet the rapidly increasing demand for advanced semiconductors, and provide power to the foundry business, which is the core of the 'Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM) 2.0' strategy.
Intel anticipates to create more than 10,000 jobs directly and indirectly by building the Ohio plant. It will invest an additional $100 million (KRW 137.3 billion) over the next 10 years to develop local talent and secure semiconductor research workforce.
By Staff Reporter Yoon-sub Song (sys@etnews.com)