DURHAM, N.C. — On March 28, Wolfspeed, Inc. hosted the first stop of President Joe Biden’s ‘Invest in America’ tour at the company’s Durham, N.C. headquarters. The President highlighted initiatives designed to boost American manufacturing, rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and strengthen supply chains. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper were also in attendance at the event.
As an American company at the forefront of the transition from silicon to Silicon Carbide to enhance technology efficiency and energy savings, Wolfspeed is committed to shaping the future of the semiconductor markets. Initiatives like the CHIPS & Science Act that are investing in and advancing the semiconductor industry will help propel the transition to electric vehicles, the move to faster 5G networks, the evolution of renewable energy and energy storage, and the advancement of industrial applications.
“We’re honored to have been the first stop on the President’s ‘Invest in America’ tour and to be recognized for our commitment to growing U.S. manufacturing and making a name for North Carolina in the tech space,” said Wolfspeed President and CEO, Gregg Lowe. “Silicon Carbide is at the heart of what we do — it’s essential to accelerating the adoption of EVs, delivering energy savings to consumers, and meeting global emission reduction targets. Wolfspeed is proud to play a critical role in fulfilling the objectives of the CHIPS & Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, and to reinforce U.S. leadership in the energy transition and the semiconductor industry.”
Wolfspeed currently produces more than 60% of the world’s Silicon Carbide materials at its Durham, N.C. headquarters, but is engaged in a $6.5 billion capacity expansion effort to dramatically increase production. This includes the opening of the company’s 200mm Mohawk Valley device fab in April 2022, and the construction of The John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide, a 445-acre Silicon Carbide materials facility in North Carolina, which will expand the company’s existing materials capacity by more than 10x. Phase one construction for the materials facility is anticipated to be completed in 2024. Last month, Wolfspeed also announced plans to build a highly-automated, cutting-edge 200mm wafer fabrication facility in Saarland, Germany.