ST to power up SiC plant in Sicily

STMicroelectronics plans on building a 5-billion-euro silicon carbide “ecosystem” in Catania, Sicily. The Silicon Carbide Campus will house SiC substrate development, epitaxial growth processes, 200mm front-end wafer fabrication and module back-end assembly, as well as process R&D, product design, advanced R&D labs for dies, power systems and modules, and full packaging capabilities. The Italian government picks up part of the bill, providing 2 billion euros in subsidies.

“The fully integrated capabilities unlocked by the Silicon Carbide Campus in Catania will contribute significantly to ST’s SiC technology leadership for automotive and industrial customers through the next decades,” says ST CEO Jean-Marc Chery. “The scale and synergies offered by this project will enable us to better innovate with high-volume manufacturing capacity, to the benefit of our European and global customers as they transition to electrification and seek more energy-efficient solutions to meet their decarbonization goals.”

The facility is scheduled to start production in 2026 and reach maximum output by 2033.