Micron to spend $100bn over 20 years on New York fab

Micron plans to build “the largest semiconductor fabrication facility in the history of the United States”.

Micron intends to invest up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years to construct a fab in Clay, New York, with the first phase investment of $20 billion planned by the end of this decade.

The site could eventually include four 600,000 square foot cleanrooms, for a total of 2.4 million square feet of cleanroom space.

The fab is part of its strategy to increase American-made leading-edge DRAM production to 40% of the company’s global output over the next decade. Site preparation work will start in 2023, construction will begin in 2024 and production output will ramp in the latter half of  the decade.

Locating Micron’s industry-leading DRAM production in the U.S. brings tremendous benefits for its customers, enabling them to build their innovative products and solutions using a more resilient, secure and geographically diverse supply chain.

$5.5 billion in incentives are coming from the state of New York over the life of the project, alongside anticipated federal grants and tax credits from the CHIPS and Science Act. In addition, the Town of Clay and Onondaga County are providing key infrastructure support.

New York provides partnership opportunities with local K-12 education programs, community colleges and institutions for top engineering and technical talent. The state has a history of semiconductor development and manufacturing, providing promising opportunities to collaborate on R&D initiatives with organizations like the Albany NanoTech Complex and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.

Micron and the state of New York are also announcing a $500 million investment in community and workforce development with a focus on disadvantaged populations over the duration of the project.

Micron will invest $250 million over the next 20-plus years as part of the company’s commitment to the Green CHIPS Community Investment Fund.

An additional $250 million is expected to be invested, with $100 million from New York and $150 million from local, other state and national partners.

Aimed at expanding and preparing the workforce in the region and providing additional support for disadvantaged community populations, the fund will be used for workforce training, education programs, housing and other community investments. Micron will work with the state and other partners to form a local Community Advisory Committee to provide inputs into additional future investments from the Fund.

Micron aims to use 100% renewable electricity at the new facility. Additionally, Micron plans to use green infrastructure and sustainable building attributes for the construction of the New York fab to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status.

Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) for the new facility will be mitigated and controlled. These efforts support Micron’s global target to achieve a 42% reduction in GHG emissions from operations by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.