GlobalWafers gets EU funding for 12-inch chip plant in Italy

Taipei, June 18 (CNA) Hsinchu-based GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. has secured a grant from the EU Commission and Italian government for its 12-inch chip plant in Italy, the company said Tuesday.

In a statement, GlobalWafers confirmed that, following project authorization by the EU Commission, the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) issued an Assignment Decree awarding a research and development grant of up to 103 million euros to MEMC Electronic Materials S.p.A., a GlobalWafer affiliate based in Novara, northwestern Italy, for the objective.

MEMC's new wafer fab, Europe's most advanced 300mm (12-inch) semiconductor wafer production facility, will fill a critical gap in the European semiconductor supply chain that until now has been highly dependent on imports to supply wafers for the most advanced technology platforms, the statement said.

According to GlobalWafers, the potential 103 million euros in public funding aims to support the European industrial deployment of microelectronics and communication technologies across the EU value chain, under the IPCEI-ME/CT (Important Project of Common European Interest in Microelectronics and Communications Technologies) Program.

"In this era of economic regionalization, the European Commission and the Italian government have strategically targeted the most important investments to build resiliency in the European semiconductor and high-tech sectors," GlobalWafers Chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said.

"In this regard, GlobalWafers MEMC's new 300mm Novara fab perfectly fits the European Commission's definition of 'research and development' and 'first industrial deployment' of advanced technology," Hsu said.

"As the newest 300mm silicon wafer production facility in Europe, MEMC S.p.A. is utilizing the industry's most cutting-edge manufacturing technology to meet our clients' ever more sophisticated requirements. We are honored to be part of the IPCEI ME/CT Program and thank the EU Commission and MIMIT for their support," Hsu added.

MEMC President Marco Sciamanna said the MEMC 300mm production facility will support the creation of downstream products in all four of the high-tech workstreams targeted by the IPCEI-ME/CT Program, namely SENSE (Sensor applications), THINK (Logic applications), ACT (Power Applications), and COMMUNICATE (Communication applications).

With manufacturing facilities in Novara and Merano, MEMC S.p.A. has for decades successfully operated in Italy, producing wafers for hundreds of European and global makers, according to the statement.

With this expansion, MEMC is bringing 600 construction jobs to Novara, in addition to 150 new long-term company jobs, it added.