Durham-based Wolfspeed builds computer chip factory in Germany

Durham-based Wolfspeed is partnering with a German company to establish a semiconductor manufacturing facility within the southwestern state of Saarland.

Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe and other officials were joined by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday.

The plant producing silicon carbide wafers will probably be built on the positioning of a former coal-fired power plant in Ensdorf on the border between Germany, France and Luxembourg.

Here, on the positioning of a former coal-fired power plant and a reminder of our industrial past, Lowe said, we wish to construct a bridge, a bridge to a greater and cleaner industrial future.

Wolfspeed said the plant is an element of a $6.5 billion investment to expand manufacturing capability, including its silicon carbide plant in Siler City, which the corporate announced last yr. The plants are designed to fulfill growing demand for computer chips in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other renewable energy technologies.

Because electric cars with silicon carbide semiconductors can go farther and charge faster, they’ll speed up the transition from gas cars to pure electric vehicles, Lowe said. Solar farms will be more efficient and deliver more clean energy to the grid, making us less depending on fossil fuels.

The announcement comes amid a dispute between the Biden administration and the European Union over subsidies for clean energy technologies. The inflation-reduction bill Biden signed into law last yr includes billions of dollars in subsidies for chipmakers and electric vehicle makers.

Chancellor Scholz welcomed the investment by the American company, but added: At the identical time, we’re also talking to our American friends to be certain that European corporations aren’t disadvantaged. Because there aren’t any customs barriers and strict rules of origin, which pave the way in which for readiness for innovation, but open markets and fair competition.

See also: Continental and Siemens collaborate on pantographs for trucks

Scholz also said the EU was working by itself support package for European businesses.

Construction of the plant in Saarland is ready to start before the tip of this yr. Wolfspeed is working with German automotive parts manufacturer ZF Group on the project. Wolfspeed has also agreed to open an innovation center at one other location in Germany.

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