The US Commerce Department announced it has finalized $406 million in government grants to Taiwan's GlobalWafers to substantially increase silicon wafer production in the United States.
GlobalWafers announced in 2022 its intention to construct a $5 billion facility in Texas for the production of 300-mm silicon wafers utilized in semiconductors, switching from a defunct plan to invest in Germany.
GlobalWafers plans to construct and enhance facilities in Sherman, Texas, for the production of wafers utilized in creating advanced, mature-node, and memory chips, along with a new facility in St. Peters, Missouri, for wafers employed in defense and aerospace chip manufacturing.
The finance allocated for initiatives in Texas and Missouri will set up the initial high-volume US manufacturing of 300-mm wafers for advanced semiconductors and enhance the production of silicon-on-insulator wafers, as stated by the Commerce Department.
At present, five major companies including GlobalWafers, dominate over 80% of the global market for 300-mm silicon wafer manufacturing, with approximately 90% of silicon wafers being manufactured in East Asia.
The wafers play an essential role in advanced semiconductors and are included in the Biden administration’s initiatives to enhance the domestic chips supply chain. The subsidy will support nearly $4 billion in investments by GlobalWafers across both states to build new wafer manufacturing plants and generate 1,700 construction jobs along with 880 manufacturing positions.
The department is rapidly working to finalize awards from the $52.7 billion 2022 CHIPS and Science Act semiconductor manufacturing and research subsidy program before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
Last week, Commerce completed a $6.165 billion government grant for Micron Technology to manufacture semiconductors in New York and Idaho. Commerce has completed additional awards in the past few weeks, such as a $7.86 billion award for Intel, $6.6 billion for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's new US division, and $1.5 billion for GlobalFoundries.