On Wednesday 5 October, the European Commission authorised €292.5 million of Italian aid made available through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to help STMicroelectronics build a plant in the semiconductor value chain in Catania, Sicily.
The measure will strengthen Europe’s security of supply, resilience and digital sovereignty in semiconductor technologies, in line with the ambitions set out in the European Chips Act Communication. The measure will also contribute to achieving both the digital and green transition.
The aid will take the form of a direct grant of €292.5 million to support STMicroelectronics’ €730 million investment in the construction of a silicon carbide ('SiC wafer') plant in Catania.
The project, which is expected to be completed in 2026, will be the first integrated industrial-scale SiC epitaxial wafer production line in Europe. It will integrate the entire SiC substrate value chain, from the production of the raw material (‘SiC powder’) to the manufacture of SiC wafers, in the same production facility. The SiC wafers will be ready for further use after further processing in the factory, during which they will be coated with a specific epitaxial layer that will improve their technical capabilities (SiC epitaxial wafers). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)