The Commerce Department said today it signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum with GlobalWafers Co. Ltd. for up to $400 million in funding approved under the CHIPS and Science Act that the company would use to create semiconductor wafer operations in the United States.
GlobalWafers is headquartered in Taiwan and is the world’s third largest silicon wafer supplier.
Congress approved the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022, making up to $52 billion of funding available to incentivize semiconductor makers to establish new manufacturing operations in the U.S.
If the preliminary agreement is finalized, the funding to GlobalWafers would support construction and expansion wafer facilities in Sherman, Texas, and St. Peters, Mo. Those operations would end up creating the first 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing facility in the U.S., along with 300mm silicon-on-insulator wafers that are used by the defense and aerospace sectors.
The company also would convert existing wafer making capacity to new silicon carbide epitaxy wafer manufacturing that supports high-voltage applications including electric vehicles and clean energy infrastructure.
The funding would create 800 new manufacturing jobs, and support 1,700 construction jobs, the Commerce Department said.
“This proposed investment will support projects with total capital expenditures of approximately $4 billion across both states,” the agency said.
“With this proposed investment, GlobalWafers will play a crucial role in bolstering America’s semiconductor supply chain by providing a domestic source of silicon wafers that are the backbone of advanced chips,” commented Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“The semiconductor wafers that will come from today’s announcement will be the foundation for the complex chips we need to compete in the global economy,” added Arati Prabhakar, who heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The Commerce Department cautioned that the funding award remains subject to further due diligence and documentation, and that funding is conditioned on achievement of milestones.
