Silicon carbide power solutions company Wolfspeed, headquartered in North Carolina, has a tentative memorandum of understanding to get three-quarters of $1 billion from the Biden administration.
Wolfspeed, in Durham, has been battling losses and a price share down 71%. Still, it remains an American market leader and challenged by Chinese competitors.
The infusion of $750 million in direct funding would “support the construction of a new silicon carbide wafer manufacturing facility in Siler City, helping to secure a reliable domestic supply of the semiconductors that will underpin the future energy economy and AI boom,” a release from U.S. Department of Commerce said.
A device manufacturing facility in Marcy, N.Y., is also growing with the investment attached to the CHIPS and Science Act. The Commerce Department said the projects together will create more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs and 3,000 construction jobs.
The CHIPS and Science Act was passed by Congress – 243-187 in the House, 64-33 in the Senate – in July of 2022. President Joe Biden signed the bill shortly after on Aug. 9.
A White House fact sheet released upon the signing said, “The CHIPS and Science Act will boost American semiconductor research, development, and production, ensuring U.S. leadership in the technology that forms the foundation of everything from automobiles to household appliances to defense systems. America invented the semiconductor, but today produces about 10% of the world’s supply – and none of the most advanced chips. Instead, we rely on East Asia for 75% of global production.”
Wolfspeed bills itself as creator of “next-generation semiconductor technology delivering quantum leaps in efficient, sustainable power, enabling the electrification of everything.”
In its fiscal year 2024 financials released in August, Wolfspeed reported total revenue of the company and its subsidiaries of approximately $807 million.
Siler City is in Randolph County, neighbor to Chatham County and collectively a growing 21st century manufacturing hub to include the electric vehicle industry. It is nearly equidistant to the Triad of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, and the Triangle of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
“We intend to build a booming semiconductor R&D industry in the United States that will attract and keep semiconductor manufacturers in this country,” Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio said in a release. “These efforts depend on a reliable domestic supply of specialized semiconductor wafers and devices, such as those produced by firms like Wolfspeed. With proposed investments such as this, we are realizing the goals of the CHIPS and Science Act by building out the domestic supply chains that will keep America’s R&D capacity healthy and competitive.”
