The U.S. Department of Commerce and GlobalFoundries announced on Monday that the United States will provide $1.5 billion in funding to GlobalFoundries under the Chip and Science Act. As the latest domestic chip factory to receive funding under the act, GlobalFoundries’ funds will be used to upgrade the company’s factories in New York and Vermont and build an entirely new factory module. In addition, GlobalFoundries will receive more than $600 million in New York State funding to support its expansion and modernization efforts over the next 10 years.
“These proposed investments, along with the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for semiconductor manufacturing, are core to the GlobalFoundries story and the next chapter of our industry,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, President and CEO of GlobalFoundries. “They will also play a key role in enabling the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem. play an important role in becoming more globally competitive and resilient, and solidifying the New York Capital Region’s position as a global semiconductor hub. As new onshore capacity and technologies emerge, we as an industry now need to shift our focus on increasing our focus on U.S. manufacturing demand for chips, and developing our talented American semiconductor workforce.”
GlobalFoundries will fund three projects using direct subsidies in the coming quarters.
First, the company plans to expand its Fab 8 facility in Malta, New York, allowing it to make chips for the automotive industry using technology already employed at its factories in Germany and Singapore. This expansion is critical to meeting the growing demand for chips in the transforming automotive industry. Additionally, the project will allow GF’s flagship Malta fab to diversify into different technologies and end markets, which will ensure its future utilization.
In addition to the Malta expansion, GlobalFoundries also plans to build a new state-of-the-art fab (or rather a module) on the same campus. The new factory is designed to meet expected demand for essential U.S.-made chips from a wide range of markets including automotive, aerospace, defense and artificial intelligence. The construction of this new wafer fab, along with the expansion of existing production facilities, is expected to triple Malta’s current production capacity over the next decade, with wafer production expected to increase to one million wafers per year.
Finally, GlobalFoundries plans to modernize its Essex Junction, Vermont facility, focusing on upgrading existing infrastructure and expanding production capacity. The project will also establish the first U.S. factory capable of high-volume production of next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. These chips are critical for a variety of applications, including electric vehicles and data centers. Grid and communications technology.
Overall, GlobalFoundries plans to invest more than $12 billion across its two U.S. facilities over the next decade, supported by public-private partnerships with federal and state governments and strategic ecosystem partners. The investment is expected to create more than 1,500 manufacturing jobs and about 9,000 construction jobs, according to the company, which is promoting it as a significant contribution to the local economy.
GlobalFoundries’ financing and expansion efforts in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and New York State are designed to enhance the competitiveness and resiliency of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem. These moves also underscore the contract chipmaker’s commitment to sustainable operations and workforce development, consistent with the company’s strategic goal of strengthening the semiconductor talent pipeline and supporting growing demand for U.S.-made chips.
AMD, Qualcomm, General Motors and Lockheed Martin welcomed the grant and highlighted the importance of the U.S. semiconductor supply chain to emerging applications such as software-defined and autonomous vehicles, as well as 5G, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and edge computing importance of global trends.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, GlobalFoundries