Europe’s STMicroelectronics and China’s Sanan Optoelectronics will form a joint venture (JV) in Chongqing, a tech collaboration that promises to boost China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry while also underscoring the limits of US efforts to disrupt China’s semiconductor production.
On June 7, STMicroelectronics said that the JV will produce silicon carbide, or SiC, power devices using its proprietary manufacturing process on 200mm SiC substrates to be made in a separate dedicated facility to be built, owned and operated by Sanan Optoelectronics.
The two companies plan to start production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and reach maximum targeted capacity by 2028. In addition to automotive products, the JV will make power semiconductor devices for other industrial and energy applications such as solar and wind.