Nexperia to invest $200M in Hamburg site
Semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia will invest $200 million to develop the next generation of wide bandgap semiconductors SiC and GaN and to establish production infrastructure at its Hamburg site in Germany.
At the same time, wafer fab capacity for silicon diodes and transistors will be increased. The investments are jointly announced with Hamburg’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Melanie Leonhard, on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of the production site.
“This investment strengthens our position as a leading supplier of energy-efficient semiconductors and enables us to utilise available electrical energy more responsibly,” comments Achim Kempe, COO and managing director at Nexperia Germany.
“In the future, our Hamburg fab will cover the complete range of WBG semiconductors while still being the largest factory for small signal diodes and transistors. We remain committed to our strategy of producing high-quality, cost-efficient semiconductors for standard applications and power-intensive applications, while addressing one of the greatest challenges of our generation: meeting the growing demand for energy and while reducing the environmental footprint."
First production lines for high-voltage GaN D-Mode transistors and SiC diodes started in June 2024. The next milestone will be modern and cost-efficient 200 mm production lines for SiC MOSFETs and low-voltage GaN HEMTs. These will be established at the Hamburg factory over the next two years.
At the same time, the investment will help to further automate the existing infrastructure at the Hamburg site and expand silicon production capacity by systematically converting to 200 mm wafers. Following the expansion of the clean room areas, new R&D laboratories are being built to continue to ensure a seamless transition from research to production in the future.
"The planned investment enables us to bring WBG chip design and production to Hamburg. However, SiC and GaN are by no means new territory for Nexperia. GaN FETs have been part of our portfolio since 2019, and in 2023 we expanded our range of products to include SiC diodes and SiC MOSFETs, the latter in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric. Nexperia is one of the few suppliers to offer a comprehensive range of semiconductor technologies, including Si, SiC, and GaN in both e-mode and d-mode. This means, we offer our customers a one-stop shop for all their semiconductor needs”, explains Stefan Tilger, CFO and managing director at Nexperia Germany.
