Japan's semiconductor firms including Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage and JS Foundry are actively expanding investments in building new capacities for power devices to meet ever-increasing demand for EV applications, according to Japanese news media reports.
Nikkei recently reported that Toshiba will construct a backend production facility for power semiconductors for use in EVs and household electrical appliances, at its Hemeji Operations-Semiconductor complex in Hyogo, western Japan.
Construction of the new facility will start in June 2024, with commercial runs scheduled to start between April and September 2025. The project will more than double Toshiba's automotive power semiconductor production capacity at its Himeji manufacturing base, compared to the fiscal 2022 level, the report said.
In early 2022, Toshiba also announced plans to establish a new 300mm wafer plant for power devices at Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture, which is slated for commercial production in fiscal 2024 (April 2024-March 2025), when its power semiconductor capacity would be 2.5 times the existing level.
Moreover, Buzen Toshiba Electronics, a subsidiary of Toshiba, also plans to invest billions of yen in 2024 to boost backend capacity by 20% for photocouplers needed for battery-powered EVs and hybrid EVs.
According to a Nikkan Kogyo report, JS Foundry will build a new 8-inch wafer fabrication line at its plant in Nigata, Japan - newly acquired from Onsemi - to manufacture power semiconductors for automotive, household electrical appliances, and datacenter applications. The company plans to install equipment between late 2023 and early 2024, and start first-phase commercial production in 2024-2025, while a second-phase production is set for 2027.
The existing 6-inch wafer line at the Nigata plant will remain operational, with 50% of the capacity to serve the demand from Onsemi. JS Foundry is actively exploring new clients, aiming to reach full capacity utilization by March 2024, and will then convert the line for the production of GaN power devices in 2025.
