As part of its long-term growth strategy, Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE)
announces it will invest up to $1 billion in the expansion of its
silicon carbide capacity with the development of a state-of-the-art,
automated 200mm silicon carbide fabrication facility and a materials
mega factory at its U.S. campus headquarters in Durham, N.C. It marks
the company’s largest investment to date in fueling its Wolfspeed
silicon carbide and GaN on silicon carbide business. Upon completion in
2024, the facilities will substantially increase the company’s silicon
carbide materials capability and wafer fabrication capacity, allowing
wide bandgap semiconductor solutions that enable the dramatic technology
shifts underway within the automotive, communications infrastructure and
industrial markets.
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The North Fab: Five-year investment leverages an existing building and refurbished 200mm equipment to build state-of-the-art automotive-qualified production facility (Photo: Business Wire)
“We continue to see great interest from the automotive and
communications infrastructure sectors to leverage the benefits of
silicon carbide to drive innovation. However, the demand for silicon
carbide has long surpassed the available supply. Today, we are
announcing our largest-ever investment in production to dramatically
increase this supply and help customers deliver transformative products
and services to the marketplace,” said Gregg Lowe, CEO of Cree. “This
investment in equipment, infrastructure and our workforce is capable of
increasing our silicon carbide wafer fabrication capacity up to 30-fold
and our materials production by up to 30-fold compared to Q1 of fiscal
year 2017, which is when we began the first phase of capacity expansion.
We believe this will allow us to meet the expected growth in Wolfspeed
silicon carbide material and device demand over the next five years and
beyond.”
The plan delivers additional capacity for its industry-leading Wolfspeed
silicon carbide business with the build out of an existing structure as
a 253,000 square-foot, 200mm power and RF wafer fabrication facility as
an initial step to serve the projected market demand. The new North Fab
is designed to be fully automotive qualified and will provide nearly 18
times more surface area for manufacturing than exists today, initially
opening with the production of 150mm wafers. The company will convert
its existing Durham fabrication and materials facility into a materials
mega factory.
“These silicon carbide manufacturing mega-hubs will accelerate the
innovation of today’s fastest growing markets by producing solutions
that help extend the range and reduce the charge times for electric
vehicles, as well as support the rollout of 5G networks around the
world,” said Lowe. “We believe that this represents the largest capital
investment in the history of silicon carbide and GaN technologies and
production with a fiscally responsible approach. By using existing
facilities and installing a majority of refurbished tools, we believe we
will be able to deliver a state-of-the-art 200mm capable fab at
approximately one-third of the cost of a new fab.”
The expanded campus also creates high-tech job opportunities and will
serve as an advanced manufacturing workforce development initiative.
Cree plans to partner with state and local community and four-year
colleges to develop training programs to prepare its workforce for the
long-term, high-quality employment and growth opportunities the new
facilities will present.
About Cree, Inc.
Cree is an innovator of Wolfspeed® power and radio frequency
(RF) semiconductors, lighting class LEDs and lighting products. Cree’s
Wolfspeed product families include silicon carbide materials,
power-switching devices and RF devices targeted for applications such as
electric vehicles, fast charging, inverters, power supplies, telecom and
military and aerospace. Cree’s LED product families include blue and
green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs and lighting-class power LEDs
targeted for indoor and outdoor lighting, video displays, transportation
and specialty lighting applications. Cree’s LED lighting systems and
lamps serve indoor and outdoor applications.
For additional product and Company information, please refer to www.cree.com.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks
and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results
to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ
materially due to a number of factors, including the timing of the
transition to using silicon carbide devices in EVs; Cree’s ability to
develop and design silicon carbide devices that will continue to improve
performance in the EV market; Cree’s ability to develop and design RF
devices that will improve performance in the RF Power market; the risk
Cree may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production
of this capacity on time, at the projected costs, to the extent of the
anticipated production levels or at all; risks associated with the
transition of production from 150mm to 200mm wafers; the risk that Cree
may be unable to manufacture these products with sufficiently low cost
to offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; customer
acceptance of EVs using Cree’s silicon carbide devices; customer
acceptance of RF power devices using Cree’s GaN technology; the rapid
development of new technology and competing products that may impair
demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed
in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 24, 2018, and subsequent
filings.
Cree® and Wolfspeed® are registered
trademarks of Cree, Inc.
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