“In February 2023, we announced our intention to build a highly automated, state-of-the-art wafer processing facility in Saarland, Germany. We continue to work with the European Union, the German and Saarland governments on a grant package for this facility. The timing and amount of these grants are uncertain and could materialize in the 2026 financial year or later, if at all. We will not commence construction of this facility until the grants are agreed and we expect the majority of the investment to occur after the 2025 financial year.”
Wolfspeed’s fiscal year 2025 ends in June 2025. Typical grant amounts for semiconductor plants are 40 percent – in the case of TSMC’s Dresden silicon semiconductor plant (ESMC) it is even 50 percent.
The German automotive supplier ZF is said to have withdrawn completely from the Saarland project, meanwhile. This was reported by the Handelsblatt newspaper, citing government circles. At 170 million euros, its share would have been manageable anyway.
Oversupply of silicon carbide semiconductors
The construction of components made of silicon carbide (SiC) is actually considered a growth market because they enable particularly efficient power semiconductors for high switching voltages. These include metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) for electric cars, charging stations, e-bikes, photovoltaic inverters (PV-WR) and high-voltage grids (HVDC).
However, numerous SiC manufacturers worldwide have continuously increased their production capacities and Chinese manufacturers are also stepping up international trade. Even the beginning of the supply chain is currently struggling with low SiC wafer prices, some of which are being sold at a loss according to Digitimes.
Wolfspeed already manufactures SiC wafers and is one of the leading producers, but also processes them into SiC components itself.
In Saarland, Wolfspeed wanted to process SiC wafers into power semiconductors. However, the (e-)car market is weakening as one of the most important customers. In addition, the previously important Wolfspeed customer STMicro is forging its own plans with a large SiC plant in Italy alongside a joint venture with Sanan for further components.
Wolfspeed and STMicro previously had a comprehensive purchase agreement. In the last annual report, Wolfspeed stated that the three largest customers accounted for 20, 14 and 11 percent of its own sales – STMicro is thought to be behind the largest customer. These sales are at risk in the medium term.
Bosch and Infineon are also expanding their own production capacities, including in the USA and Malaysia. The market research group Yole summarizes the SiC plants planned to date on a world map.
Various manufacturers are planning various new semiconductor plants for SiC power semiconductors.
(Image: Yole Group)
(mma)
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This article was originally published in
German.
It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
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Publish date : 2024-10-22 13:28:00
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