Europe that looks to the future with innovation and technological production, also promoting the green transition. This is the goal of StMicroelectronics' new 200-millimeter silicon carbide manufacturing plant for devices and power modules, as well as testing and packaging activities that will be built in Catania.
A multi-year investment program of 5 billion euros is planned, which includes support of 2 billion euros from the Italian state under the EU Chips Act. Together with the SiC substrate production plant being set up on the same site , these facilities will form the Silicon Carbide Campus in St.
An investment, that of Catania, which, states the vice president of the EU Commission, Margrethe Vestager, announcing the green light for aid from Europe, «supports a single integrated plant for silicon carbide chips» and will help the «digital transition and green” of the EU, contributing to “creating highly qualified jobs, while limiting possible distortions of competition”.
The plant, explains the Competition Commissioner, will contribute “to guaranteeing EU access to a reliable source of energy-efficient chips used in electric vehicles and charging stations”.
«With these investments – stated Vestager after a visit to the site together with Minister Adolfo Urso – we can also show that we can increase the security of supply and minimize the risks for the industry in Europe. I toured the facility. It's really something impressive because it's not a game, it's not simple. You can't even imagine what has been created here: it's what we wanted.”
For Minister Urso, today “is a historic day for Sicily, for Italy and for Europe”. «There is an investment of five billion euros – he adds – in which my mystery participates with two billion: it is the second largest investment approved to date by the European Commission within the Chips Act. It is a milestone, an event of extraordinary importance for reaffirming the role of a hub for the development of microelectronics in Italy and the Etna Valley”. And not only that, adds Urso: «by the end of the year Italy will reach 10 billion euros of investments in the microelectronics sector».
From Mimit it is underlined that the Italian strategy for microelectronics aims to bring large production investments into the country, and on this point 4 billion euros have already been invested, to strengthen advanced industrial research and build relationships with other countries. So far this has served to launch investments by St in Catania for 5 billion which will create 2,000 jobs, and that of Silicon Box, for 3.2 billion and 1,600 employees.
ST in Catania will build the SiC campus, the first plant complex in Europe that covers all phases of production, from silicon carbide powder to products and power modules used for electric cars, fast charging, photovoltaic panels, large servers of cloud and data center infrastructure. The start of production is expected in 2026. When fully operational, in 2033, the site will process 15 thousand SiC wafers per week.
Silicon carbide represents a technological breakthrough: it is composed of silicon and carbon and offers numerous advantages over traditional silicon for power applications. It has better thermal conductivity, faster switching speed, low dissipation which make it particularly suitable for manufacturing high voltage power devices. It has the advantage of offering greater power and reducing dispersion, increasing the quality and life of the device, improving energy efficiency.