Durham-based Wolfspeed is working with a German company to set up a semiconductor manufacturing facility in the southwestern German state of Saarland.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz joined Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe and other officials on Wednesday.
The plant for the production of silicon carbide wafers will be built on the site of a former coal-fired power plant in the town of Ensdorf near the German border with France and Luxembourg.
Here on this site of a former coal-fired power plant and a reminder of our industrial past, Lowe said. We want to build a bridge, a bridge to a better and cleaner industrial future.
According to Wolfspeed, the facility is part of a $6.5 billion investment to increase production capacity, including a silicon carbide facility in Siler City, the company announced last year. The plants are designed to meet the growing demand for computer chips in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other renewable energy technologies.
Because electric cars with silicon carbide semiconductors can go farther and charge faster, accelerating the transition from gas cars to pure electric vehicles, Lowe said. Solar farms can be more efficient and deliver more clean energy to the grid, making us less dependent on fossil fuels.
The announcement comes amid a row between the Biden administration and the European Union over subsidies for clean energy technologies. The Inflation Reduction Act -- which Biden signed into law last year -- provides billions of dollars in subsidies for chipmakers and electric vehicle manufacturers.
Chancellor Scholz welcomed the investment by an American company, but added: At the same time, we are also talking to our American friends to ensure that European companies are not disadvantaged. Because there are no customs barriers. and strict rules of origin, which paved the way for a willingness to innovate, but open markets and fair competition.
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Scholz also said that the EU is working on its own support package for European companies.
The construction of the plant in Saarland is to start before the end of this year. Wolfspeed is collaborating with German auto parts maker ZF Group on the project. Wolfspeed has also agreed to open an innovation center at another location in Germany.
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