이 기사는 2021년 11월 12일 08시06분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

SK Siltron has revealed that its second-tier subsidiary SK Siltron CSS will invest an additional $300 million (34.5 billion won) to expand its silicon carbide (SiC) wafer manufacturing lines in the United States.

SK Siltron CSS, the semiconductor wafer manufacturing unit of South Korea's SK Group, plans to invest a total of $600 million to expand its SiC wafer production lines in America by 2026, according to documents recently submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The latest plan came three months after an announcement by SK Siltron CSS in July that it will invest $300 million to build a new plant in Bay City, Michigan, near its Auburn plant, over the next three years to meet surging SiC wafer demands.

SK Siltron CSS said its latest investment decision was made to meet the growing demand for SiC wafers used in electric vehicles.

“We are contributing to the U.S. semiconductor market through investments in Michigan,” said SK Siltron in its letter sent to the U.S. Commerce Secretary, adding, “We will enhance our semiconductor supply chain.”

SK Siltron CSS manufactures a specialty wafer made of SiC that can be used in the semiconductor power components of electric vehicles. The wafers are more efficient at handling high powers and conducting heat than normal silicon. SK Siltron CSS’ rivals include U.S.-based CREE and II-VI.

SK Siltron CSS’ supply expansion plan is submitted in response to the U.S. government’s request for information to understand the current situation to resolve the global chip shortage.

SK Siltron CSS is a local subsidiary that SK Group set up upon its acquisition of U.S. chemical company DuPont’s SiC wafer business in February 2020.

“We haven’t decided on where and when to inject an additional $300 million,” said the company.

It is not easy to make a large-scale investment of 700 billion won in a situation where SK Siltron CSS operates in the red, but SK expects that the company will swing to a profit as the shift to electric vehicles accelerates in the future. (Reporting by Hye-ran Kim)