STMicroelectronics to Build Fully Integrated SiC Site in Italy

STMicroelectronics announces a new high-volume 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturing facility for power devices and modules, as well as test and packaging, to be built in Catania, Italy.

Combined with the SiC substrate manufacturing facility being readied on the same site, these facilities will form ST’s Silicon Carbide Campus, realizing the company’s vision of a fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility for the mass production of SiC on one site.

“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,” said Jean-Marc Chery, president and CEO of STMicroelectronics.

“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,” Chery added.

The Silicon Carbide Campus will serve as the center of ST’s global SiC ecosystem, integrating all steps in the production flow, including 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 new facility is targeted to start production in 2026 and to ramp to full capacity by 2033, with up to 15,000 wafers per week at full build-out. The total investment is expected to be around €5 billion, with a support of around €2 billion provided by the State of Italy within the framework of the EU Chips Act.

Catania has long been an important site for innovation for ST as the home of the largest SiC R&D and manufacturing operations, successfully contributing to the development of new solutions for producing more and better SiC devices.

With an established ecosystem on power electronics, including a long-term, successful collaboration between ST and the University of Catania and the CNR (Italian National Research Council), as well as a large network of suppliers, this investment will strengthen Catania’s role as a global competence center for SiC technology and for further growth opportunities.