The US Department of Commerce yesterday said that it had finalized a US$123 million grant for Polar Semiconductor LLC to expand its plant in Minnesota, which would allow the company to nearly double its US production capacity of power and sensor chips.
The award, part of a US$52.7 billion semiconductor manufacturing and research subsidy program, is the first in the program to be finalized by the Commerce Department.
The department would distribute funds based on Polar’s completion of project milestones.
Photo: Reuters
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said that the award would help “create a new US-owned foundry for sensor and power semiconductors” and boost Polar production from roughly 20,000 wafers per month to 40,000 serving aerospace, automotive and defense needs.
The state of Minnesota is contributing US$75 million to the US$525 million expansion at Polar, which is 70 percent owned by Sanken Electric Co and 30 percent held by Allegro MicroSystems Inc.
The department has allocated more than US$35 billion for 26 projects, including US$6.4 billion in grants to Samsung Electric Co to expand chip production in Texas, US$8.5 billion for Intel Corp, US$6.6 billion for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to build out its US production and US$6.1 billion for Micron Technology Inc to fund US factories.
The department must complete due diligence before it can finalize awards.
“You’re going to start to see more awards like this, dollars to companies in the coming weeks and months,” Raimondo said.
The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act championed by the administration of US President Joe Biden aims to boost efforts to make the US more competitive with China and dramatically expand US chips production. The law also includes a 25 percent investment tax credit for building chip plants, estimated to be worth US$24 billion.
Separately, the US Congress on Monday gave final approval to legislation that would streamline federal permitting processes for semiconductor manufacturing projects.
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