Project Profile
Wolfspeed Saarland
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Wolfspeed Semiconductors is a leading American semiconductor company that specializes in the development and manufacturing of wide-bandgap silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power devices. These advanced materials enable higher performance, greater efficiency, and improved reliability in various applications, including power electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and telecommunications.
Wolfspeed was originally founded as Cree Research, Inc. in 1987 by Dr. John Palmour, Dr. Calvin Carter, and Dr. John Edmond in Durham, North Carolina. Initially, the company focused on research and development in the field of silicon carbide (SiC) materials. In 2015, Cree, Inc. announced the creation of a separate entity called Wolfspeed, Inc. to focus exclusively on SiC and GaN power devices, while Cree continued its LED and lighting business.
In February 2023, Wolfspeed, in collaboration with ZF, announced plans to construct the world’s largest and most advanced silicon carbide device manufacturing facility in Saarland, Germany. This will be the company’s first factory in Europe and its most advanced production facility, developed to support growing demand for a wide variety of automotive, industrial, and energy applications.
The facility is to be located on the 35-acre (14-hectare) site of a former coal-fired power plant in Saarland which is currently in the process of land remediation in preparation for the construction of the semiconductor plant. It is expected that the fully completed facility will generate up to 600 jobs in the local region.
While no construction of the actual facility has begun, The investment would indicate that the Saarland site will be larger than previous facility constructed by Wolfspeed in Marcy, New York.
The site, known as Mohawk Valley, had an initial budget of $1 billion and was approximately 480,000 square feet with 120,000 square feet of clean room space, with additional allocations of space for future expansion capacity as needed. The timeline of Mohawk Valley was 27 months from announcement to first silicon.
The overall investment for Saarland is approximately $3 billion. As Wolfspeed has delivered many construction projects in record time, it is feasible that we can expect a similar or scalable timeline for the construction of the site in Saarland.
Project Status: In Planning.
The Wolfspeed facility is planned as part of a collaboration between the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for Microelectronics and Communication Technologies framework and ZF Friedrichshafen. This allocation of funding has not been completed, and therefore a date for construction has not been published.
Given the growing importance of the automotive industry for power IC's and the position of SIC requirements in this field, it is expected that this facility will proceed with haste when all prerequisites are met.
Project Competition and Considerations
Depending on the construction timeline, the project may face competition for engineering and construction resources from other projects in the German regions, such as Intel Magdeburg, Global Foundries Dresden, Infineon, and ESMC. Timing the start of the project and determining the required supply chain early will be key to success. Also, as this is Wolfspeeds first FAB in Europe, the need for cultural alignment, permitting & regional approvals, and localization of engineering and building practices will be key.
Summary
As always, We will continue to monitor the progress on this project, for now we will put this in the Planning stage and look forward to future announcements from Wolfspeed.