Mitsubishi Electric’s New Semiconductor Facility Completed

Kikuchi, Kumamoto Pref., Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi Electric Corp. on Wednesday held a ceremony marking the completion of a new facility for producing power semiconductors at a plant in the city of Kikuchi, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The new facility will start operations in November, and the company will aim to start mass production in 2027. Power semiconductors, which control electric currents and voltages, are used in electric vehicles and home appliances. The new facility will manufacture silicon carbide power semiconductors, for which EV-related demand is expected to grow in the medium to long term as they have a higher energy efficiency than silicon-based chips. The company has postponed parts of its equipment enhancement plan for the new facility to fiscal 2031 and beyond, due to a slower-than-expected increase in demand in the EV market. “We will decide how many production lines to install by examining market conditions and other factors,” Mitsubishi Electric President Kei Uruma told reporters. The six-story facility with a total floor space of 42,000 square meters was built as a part of the firm’s Shisui plant at a total cost of about 100 billion yen. It will handle the process of etching circuits into wafers. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]