France is set to welcome a new semiconductor production site on its soil as it continues the drive to position itself on the global market amid growing shortages, though it is still unclear where funding for the new plant is coming from.

Read the original French article here.

France will open a new semiconductor factory, according to the announcement by French company STMicroelectronics and US company GlobalFoundries released on Monday (11 July).

The new factory will specialise in 300-millimetre semiconductors, based on so-called FD-SOI technology that combines high performance and low energy consumption.

It is also expected to support a range of electronic chips as small as 18 nanometres, which are crucial components for the automotive and internet industries, for example.

“Our goal is to make this new plant a leader in sustainable semiconductor manufacturing. The new plant is designed to be 10 to 20 times less greenhouse gas-intensive than similar projects in Europe and the rest of the world,” said Jean-Marc Chery, CEO of STMicroelectronics.

The manufacturing facility, located next to STMicroelectronics’ existing plant in Crolles, near Grenoble, is expected to reach full capacity by 2026 and produce up to 620,000 new wafers for the company per year, far exceeding the 550,000 currently being built on the site right now. The new plant is also expected to create around 1,000 jobs at the Crolles site.

This announcement is part of the EU’s wider drive to catch up with global competitors on chip production and double its share in the world microchip market from 10% to 20% by 2030.

To achieve this, the European Commission presented in February its proposal for the Chips Act, which aims to vastly upscale production and innovation, guarantee supply security, attract investment and reinforce member state cooperation. It also plans to set up a mechanism between the Commission and EU countries to anticipate future crises.

“There is an investment dynamic on which France and Europe must position themselves,” the French president’s office told journalists during the ongoing “Choose France” summit, a traditional event held to promote the country’s attractiveness.

To help double production, the French government thus plans to rely on €16 billion in public and private investments over the coming years.

A costly venture

But upscaling semiconductor production is expensive as the new plant near Grenoble required €5.7 billion in investments to be set up.

“Without French participation, these investments would be very difficult to achieve,” GlobalFoundries CEO Tom Caulfield told a news conference, but refused to disclose how much of that money came from the government.

The French president’s office also declined to comment on the details of the investments.

But while the investments into the new plant fall within the €30 billion five-year budget provided for in the “France 2030” plan, EU investments as part of the Chips Act still under discussion are not excluded, it also said.

To mark the launch of the new project, President Emmanuel Macron is due to visit the Crolles site on Tuesday (12 July) where he is expected to also present a roadmap meant to speed up research in the field.

Source: Euractiv.com