Onsemi invests USD 450mn in semi-conductor foundry in Czechia

Onsemi inaugurated the expansion of its silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor fabrication plant in Roznov, east Czechia, on Wednesday.

The USD 450mn investment will create 200 jobs and increase onsite SiC production capabilities 16-fold over the next two years.

The Arizona-based semiconductor supplier makes SiC power devices for electric vehicles and renewable energy applications, which are essential to European auto supply chains.

Onsemi, which said it had revamped an existing building to meet soaring global demand, has invested more than USD 150mn in the expansion at Roznov to date. The company plans to spend double that amount throughout 2023, taking the over outlay to USD 450mn. 

With the expansion, the intelligent power and sensing technologies company adds capacity to produce SiC polished wafers and SiC epitaxy wafers.

Company executive Simon Keeton said “these increased SiC manufacturing capabilities enable onsemi to provide (for) customers the critical supply assurance to meet the rapidly growing demand for SiC-based solutions.”

Keeton added that “full control over our SiC manufacturing supply chain and the market-leading efficiency of our products underscore onsemi’s progress toward SiC leadership.”

Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade Section Head Zbynek Pokorny, Regional Governor Radim Holis, and Roznov Mayor Jiri Pavlica also attended the inauguration. 

Despite facing a period of industry supply-chain bottlenecks, the USD 31bn company’s share value doubled in the last year and grew by one-third in the last six months.

In August onsemi President-CEO Hassane El-Khoury said “our leadership in the accelerating mega-trends of vehicle electrification, ADAS (advanced driver-assistance system), energy infrastructure and factory automation have enabled us to extend long-term supply agreements and increase demand visibility.”

Onsemi’s other unit in Czechia is located in Brno. Elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, it has facilities in Bratislava and Piestany in Slovakia, and Bucharest, Romania. The US-based firm’s market peers in Europe include Bosch, Infineon, STMicroelectronics and Coherent.