Blitz Bureau
WASHINGTON: The US Commerce Department said on September 24 that it had finalised a $123 million grant for Polar Semiconductor to expand its plant in Minnesota, which would allow the company to nearly double its U.S. production capacity of power and sensor chips.
The award, part of the Biden administration’s $52.7 billion semiconductor manufacturing and research subsidy program, is the first in the program to be finalised by the department. The Commerce Department will distribute funds based on Polar’s completion of project milestones.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the award would help “create a new US-owned foundry for sensor and power semiconductors” and boost Polar production from roughly 20,000 wafers per month to 40,000 serving aerospace, automotive, and defence needs. The state of Minnesota is contributing $75 million to the $525 million expansion at Polar.
In April, Polar – 70% owned by Sanken Electric and 30% held by Allegro MicroSystems – said Niobrara Capital and Prysm Capital planned to invest $175 million for around 59% of Polar.
The Commerce Department has allocated more than $35 billion for 26 projects including $6.4 billion in grants to South Korea’s Samsung to expand chip production in Texas, $8.5 billion for Intel, $6.6 billion for Taiwan’s TSMC to build out its American production and $6.1 billion for Micron Technology to fund U.S. factories.
The department must complete due diligence before it can finalise awards.
