The John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide
We’re Building the World’s Largest Silicon Carbide Manufacturing Facility
Expanding Capacity 10x for Silicon Carbide Materials
On June 28th, 2024, we powered up the first 200mm silicon carbide crystal furnaces and are now growing crystals at The John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide in Siler City NC, the world’s largest 200mm silicon carbide materials factory.
Our CEO Gregg Lowe, along with other leaders Adam Milton and Tom Agron joined the team on site to mark this key operational milestone and thank them for their relentless efforts to create next generation silicon carbide technology today, not tomorrow. This is another exciting milestone on our journey to provide the Power To Make It Real.
At Wolfspeed, we harness the power of Silicon Carbide to change the world for better. Our company represents more than 35 years of innovation, first as Cree, then as Cree | Wolfspeed, and now as Wolfspeed. Our Wolfspeed name is synonymous with Silicon Carbide leadership as we continue leading the charge into the future of innovation and manufacturing. We have assembled the best semiconductor team in the industry – a team that is uniquely suited to lead an industry-transforming, once-in-a-generation technology shift. We are the only player in the semiconductor industry with a fully commercialized, broad portfolio of the most field-tested Silicon Carbide and GaN-on-Silicon Carbide solutions on the market.
Our ever-increasing portfolio of Wolfspeed products are engineered to enable our customers to deliver groundbreaking systems that do more while using energy more efficiently. We make a difference every day as we partner with our customers to create a more sustainable future for all – one powered by Silicon Carbide and our team’s passion and perseverance.
Our Purpose
Introducing the World’s Largest Materials Facility
Our new Materials facility will reside within the Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing Site, an industrial park that sits on approximately 1,802 acres.
This state-of-art facility will:
- Increase Wolfspeed's Materials capacity by more than 10x
- Span 445 acres
- Be highly-automated
- Create 1,800 new jobs by 2030
- Cover more than 1 million square feet
- Sit within 60 miles of prestigious local universities, creating a robust talent pipeline
- Supply our current and future fabs
- Focus on 200mm wafers, which are 1.7x larger than 150mm wafers, translating into more chips per wafer
Supplier Relationships
Investing and Partnering in North Carolina to Build a Talent Pipeline
Wolfspeed is partnering with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) to establish comprehensive education and training curricula and cutting-edge research and innovation programs. In 2020, Wolfspeed committed $4 million over five years to the university, at the time the single largest donation in the university’s history, to create the Wolfspeed Endowed Scholars Program. The two entities aim to create opportunities for undergraduate and graduate credentials in Silicon Carbide semiconductor manufacturing as well as training and career advancement programs for existing semiconductor manufacturing workers.
Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe and senior leadership members joined NC A&T for a tour of their campus.
The Siler City campus will also sit within 60 miles of North Carolina’s prestigious academies, allowing us to create relationships with future high-tech professionals and innovators. Combining Wolfspeed’s 35-year history of research and development in North Carolina with the high-quality talent in the state, we will establish a rich talent pipeline for the next generation in our local community.
A Focus on Sustainability
Sustainability isn’t just something we do; it’s woven into the fabric of our company and core values. From the products we make, to the we way make them and how we interact with our communities, sustainability is into all facets of how we operate. Expanding is no exception. The John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide will strive to have the following features when fully built.
Giving Back & Closing the Opportunity Gap
We believe every individual should have a roof over their heads, food to eat and an opportunity to excel. Investing in and giving back to the communities where we live and work is part of who we are as a team, and we are excited to extend these investments to Chatham County. Included in our 2022 sustainability goals, Wolfspeed has the ambition to close the opportunity gap by providing more opportunities for STEM education, at all levels, to people in need, particularly in underserved communities.