Renesas pays Wolfspeed $2bn deposit for 10 year supply of SiC wafers

Author: EIS Release Date: Jul 14, 2023

Renesas and Wolfspeed have signed a wafer supply agreement and $2 billion deposit by Renesas to secure a 10 year supply commitment of 150mm SiC bare and epitaxial wafers from Wolfspeed.

 

The supply of SiC wafers from Wolfspeed will pave the way for Renesas to scale production of SiC power semiconductors starting in 2025.

 

 

 

The signing ceremony of the agreement was held at Renesas’ headquarters in Tokyo between Hidetoshi Shibata, President and CEO of Renesas, and Gregg Lowe, President and CEO of Wolfspeed.

 

Renesas recently announced the restart of its Kofu Factory to produce IGBTs, and establishment of a silicon carbide production line at its Takasaki Factory.

 

The Renesas $2 billion deposit will help support Wolfspeed’s ongoing capacity construction projects including the JP, the world’s largest silicon carbide materials factory in Chatham County, North Carolina.

 

The facility is targeted to generate a more than 10-fold increase from Wolfspeed’s current SiC production capacity on its Durham, North Carolina campus which will produce primarily 200mm SiC  wafers.