News: Microelectronics
26 January 2023
Wolfspeed and ZF to build SiC device fab in Germany, says Handelsblatt
On 21 January, German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported that, together with Germany-based ZF Friedrichshafen AG (one of the world’s largest suppliers to the automotive industry) as a minority partner, Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA is planning to build a multi-billion-euro factory on the site of a disused coal-fired power station in Ensdorf near Saarbrücken, in the south-western German state of Saarland, to make silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices for electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications. Also at the site, a research center is to be built, with ZF taking a majority stake, it is reported.
Previously, in November 2019, Wolfspeed (then called Cree) and ZF extended their prior cooperation with a strategic partnership to create electric drivelines.
As the largest employer in the region, ZF operates its largest factory nearby, where 9000 staff make transmissions. Last November, it announced its intention to convert its transmission plant in Saarbrücken to make purely electric drives. The firm already uses SiC devices in 800V inverters in series production. The location of the new fab has reportedly also been chosen been because of its proximity to automotive OEMs and tier-1s in southern Germany.
Production could begin in four years, dependent on negotiations about public-sector subsidies that normally amount to a quarter of the total project investment, it is reported.
The new plant would be larger than Wolfspeed’s newest SiC fab in the USA – its 200mm-wafer-diameter Mohawk Valley Fab in Marcy, NY – which cost about $2bn to establish.
Wolfspeed to supply silicon carbide devices for future Mercedes-Benz EV platforms
Wolfspeed to supply silicon carbide power devices for Jaguar Land Rover’s next-gen EVs
Wolfspeed opens Mohawk Valley 200mm silicon carbide fab
