GlobalFoundries Receives $1.5 Billion in CHIPS Act Funding
Source: Globalfoundries
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced $1.5 billion in planned direct funding for GlobalFoundries as part of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. This investment will enable GF to expand and create new manufacturing capacity and capabilities to securely produce more essential chips for automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), aerospace, defense, and other vital markets.
Approximately $125 million of the funding will be put toward the $900 million modernization of GF’s facility in Essex Junction, Vermont. The project will upgrade existing facilities, expand capacity as well as create the first U.S. facility capable of high-volume manufacturing of next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors for use in electric vehicles, power grids, data centers, 5G and 6G smartphones and other critical technologies. Vermont has been designated as a “Tech Hub” by the Economic Development Administration for developing an ecosystem in support of GaN technology.
New York-headquartered GF, celebrating its 15th year of operations, is the only U.S.-based pure play foundry with a global manufacturing footprint including facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Singapore. GF is the first semiconductor pure play foundry to receive a major award (over $1.5 billion) from the CHIPS and Science Act, designed to strengthen American semiconductor manufacturing, supply chains and national security. The proposed funding will support three GF projects:
- Expansion of GF’s existing Malta, NY, fab by adding critical technologies already in production in GF’s Singapore and Germany facilities geared towards enabling the U.S. auto industry. As vehicles transition from mechanical to electronic systems, the number of semiconductor chips in each car or truck continues to soar. This expansion is key to ensuring supply chain resilience for the growing demand and to delivering for GF’s automotive customers including General Motors. This will continue to diversify GF’s flagship Malta fab into new technologies and end markets.
- Construction of a new state-of-art fab on the Malta campus to meet expected customer demand for U.S.-made essential chips across a broad range of markets and applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense and AI. The new fab, which has already been granted some necessary permitting, will leverage the site’s existing infrastructure and ecosystem, enabling a fast and efficient path from construction to production. The semiconductor market is expected to double over the next decade, and GF’s new fab will be uniquely positioned to capture the feature-rich mature, essential chip segment which is expected to continue to represent more than 60% of the semiconductor market. Construction of this new fab combined with expansion of GF’s existing site is expected to triple the existing capacity of the Malta campus over the next 10+ years. These two projects are expected to increase wafer production to 1 million per year once all phases are complete.
- Modernization of GF’s longest continuously operated fab and the nation’s first and largest Trusted 200mm facility in Essex Junction, Vermont. The project will upgrade existing facilities, expand capacity as well as create the first U.S. facility capable of high-volume manufacturing of next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors for use in electric vehicles, power grids, data centers, 5G and 6G smartphones and other critical technologies.
Based on market requirements and demand, GF plans to invest more than $12 billion over the next 10 plus years across its two U.S. sites through public-private partnerships with support from the federal and state governments as well as from its ecosystem partners, including key strategic customers.
In support of the two Malta, New York projects, Governor Hochul today announced $575 million in planned direct funding for New York State Green CHIPS. Also announced was $15 million in planned funding for NYS Workforce Development activities for GlobalFoundries as well as $30 million in planned funding for NYS Infrastructure upgrades and Energy incentives provided by the New York Power Authority (NYPA).
Combined, these investments are expected to create over 1,500 manufacturing jobs and about 9,000 construction jobs over the life of these projects.
“GF is proud to announce this proposed funding from the Department of Commerce and New York State and appreciates the collaboration of the CHIPS Office and the Empire State Development Corporation throughout this process. These proposed investments, along with the investment tax credit (ITC) for semiconductor manufacturing, are central to the next chapter of the GlobalFoundries story and our industry. They will also play an important role in making the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem more globally competitive and resilient and cements the New York Capital Region as a global semiconductor hub,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF. “With new onshore capacity and technology on the horizon, as an industry we now need to turn our attention to increasing the demand for U.S.-made chips, and to growing our talented U.S. semiconductor workforce.”
