Renesas to invest $700 million to double power semiconductor production

According to foreign media reports, on May 17, Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics said it will invest 90 billion yen (about US$700 million) to increase the production of power semiconductors due to the surging demand for electric vehicles .

Image source: Renesas

Renesas hopes to double its power semiconductor production and intends to restart its Kofu plant in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, in 2024, which was closed in October 2014. Given that Renesas has been producing power semiconductors on 150mm to 200mm wafers, the Kofu plant will install new equipment compatible with 300mm wafers suitable for mass production after restarting, and the plant is expected to employ 200 to 300 employees. The Kofu plant will start production in the first half of 2024 and will be mass-produced for the automotive industry by 2025.

Renesas has always pursued a "fab-light" strategy of integrating domestic bases and minimizing factories, but will now make large-scale investments to seize new demand for chips in the electric vehicle industry.

Fuji Keizai, a Tokyo-based research firm, predicts that the global power semiconductor market will reach 4 trillion yen by 2030, a 40% increase from 2020. Power semiconductors determine the energy-saving performance of products, and with the popularity of electric vehicles, the demand for power semiconductors for automobiles is also increasing rapidly.

Japanese manufacturers such as Toshiba, Fuji Electric and Mitsubishi Electric are also investing in increasing chip production, while major auto parts maker Denso has announced a partnership with a Taiwanese company.

Germany's Infineon Technologies is a leader in the mass production of 300mm wafer power semiconductors. As latecomers, Japanese companies will focus on quickly establishing efficient production lines.