STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving diverse electronics applications, announces a new high-volume 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturing facility for power devices and modules, along with test and packaging, to be built in Catania, Italy. This new facility, combined with an SiC substrate manufacturing facility on the same site, will form ST’s Silicon Carbide Campus, realizing the company’s vision of a fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility for mass production of SiC on one site. This milestone supports customers in automotive, industrial, and cloud infrastructure applications as they transition to electrification and seek higher efficiency.
“The fully integrated capabilities of the Silicon Carbide Campus in Catania will significantly contribute to ST’s SiC technology leadership for automotive and industrial customers in the coming decades,” said Jean-Marc Chery, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics. “The scale and synergies offered by this project will enable us to innovate with high-volume manufacturing capacity, benefiting our European and global customers as they transition to electrification and seek more energy-efficient solutions to meet their decarbonization goals.”
The Silicon Carbide Campus will be the center of ST’s global SiC ecosystem, integrating all production steps, including SiC substrate development, epitaxial growth processes, 200mm front-end wafer fabrication, and module back-end assembly. It will also encompass process R&D, product design, advanced R&D labs for dies, power systems and modules, and full packaging capabilities. This will be the first of its kind in Europe for the mass production of 200mm SiC wafers, enhancing yields and performance with each step of the process using 200mm technologies.
The new facility is expected to start production in 2026 and reach full capacity by 2033, with up to 15,000 wafers per week at full build-out. The total investment is estimated at around five billion euros, with about two billion euros provided by the State of Italy within the framework of the EU Chips Act. Sustainable practices are integral to the design, development, and operation of the Silicon Carbide Campus, ensuring responsible consumption of resources such as water and power.
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a key compound material consisting of silicon and carbon that offers several advantages over conventional silicon for power applications. Its wide bandgap and intrinsic characteristics—better thermal conductivity, higher switching speed, and low dissipation—make it particularly suitable for high-voltage power devices (notably above 1,200V). SiC power devices, such as SiC MOSFETs sold as bare dies and full SiC modules, are especially useful in electric vehicles, fast-charging infrastructure, renewable energies, and various industrial applications, including datacenters, as they offer higher electric currents and lower leakage than traditional silicon semiconductors, increasing energy efficiency. However, SiC chips are more difficult and costly to manufacture than silicon chips, with many challenges in industrializing the manufacturing process.
ST’s leadership in SiC results from 25 years of dedicated R&D, with a large portfolio of key patents. Catania has long been a significant site for innovation for ST, housing the largest SiC R&D and manufacturing operations and contributing to developing new solutions for producing more and better SiC devices. With an established ecosystem in power electronics, including a long-term collaboration between ST and the University of Catania and the CNR (Italian National Research Council), as well as a large network of suppliers, this investment will strengthen Catania’s role as a global competence center for SiC technology and future growth opportunities.
ST currently manufactures its flagship high-volume SiC products on two 150mm wafer lines in Catania, Italy, and Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. A third hub, a joint venture with Sanan Optoelectronics, with a 200mm facility under construction in Chongqing, China, will serve the Chinese market. ST’s wafer production facilities are supported by automotive-qualified, high-volume assembly and test operations in Bouskoura, Morocco, and Shenzhen, China. SiC substrate R&D and industrialization is undertaken in Norrköping, Sweden, and Catania, where ST’s SiC substrates manufacturing facility is ramping up production, and most of ST’s SiC product R&D and design staff are based.
