Global semiconductor firm Texas Instruments (TI) has broken ground on a new 300-mm semiconductor wafer fabrication plant in Lehi, Utah, as part of a $11bn investment.
Dubbed LFAB2, the facility will connect TI’s existing 300-mm wafer fab in Lehi. Once complete, TI’s two Utah fabs will manufacture tens of millions of analog and embedded processing chips every day.
In February 2023, TI announced its $11bn investment, marking what is believed to be the largest economic investment in state history.
Haviv Ilan, President and CEO of TI, said the new fab is part of a long-term, 300-mm manufacturing roadmap to build the capacity customers will need for decades to come.
He continued, “TI is proud to be a growing member of the Utah community, and to manufacture analog and embedded processing semiconductors that are vital for nearly every type of electronic system today.”
LFAB2 will be one of the company’s most environmentally efficient wafer fabs, designed to meet one of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system’s highest levels of structural efficiency and sustainability: LEED Gold version 4.
The plant will be powered by 100% renewable electricity and advanced 300-mm equipment. It is also expected to recycle water at nearly twice the rate of TI’s existing fab in Lehi.
Once fully operational, LFAB2 will create approximately 800 additional TI jobs as well as thousands of indirect jobs, with first production available as early as 2026.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox welcomed the news. He said that TI’s growing manufacturing presence in Utah will be transformative for the state, creating hundreds of good-paying jobs for Utahns to manufacture critically important technology.
He added, “We are proud that semiconductors – made in Utah by Utahns – will power the innovation that is foundational to our country’s economic and national security.”
LFAB2 will complement TI’s existing 300-mm wafer fabs, which include LFAB1 (Lehi, Utah), DMOS6 (Dallas), and RFAB1 and RFAB2 (both in Richardson, Texas). TI is also building four new 300-mm wafer fabs in Sherman, Texas (SM1, SM2, SM3 and SM4), with production from the first fab as early as 2025.
TI’s manufacturing expansions, with anticipated support from the CHIPS and Science Act, will provide a reliable supply of analog and embedded processing products. These investments in manufacturing and technology illustrate the company’s commitment to long-term capacity planning.
Signed into law in August 2022, the legislation set out to place the US as a leader in the semiconductor market, competing with the likes of China and Korea, and revitalise domestic manufacturing.
The industrial strategy sets aside funding for new semiconductor programmes, including $39bn for a grant programme available to semiconductor manufacturers as well as equipment and materials suppliers.
Further to the above, the act also includes $2bn for the legacy chips used in automobiles and defence systems, $13.2bn in R&D and workforce development and $500m to provide for international information communications technology security and semiconductor supply chain activities.
Read more:President Biden signs $52bn CHIPS Act into law
Decarbonisation Summit 2024: Industrial Gases and Clean Energies 3.0
The global industrial gas and equipment business has an imperative role to play in the future of clean fuels and decarbonisation. The energy transition simply won’t happen without it.
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Interested in speaking and contributing? Get in touch with our Content Director, Rob Cockerill, at [email protected]
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