At the opening of its assembly and test facility in Batu Kawan, Penang, memory semiconductor vendor Micron Technology Inc. said it will expand the factory with an investment of $1 billion.
The expansion will allow the company to boost production output and further its assembly and test capabilities for NAND, DRAM and solid state drive (SSD) modules. Micron said these modules will be needed for the growing demand for artificial intelligence systems as well as autonomous and electric vehicles (EVs).
Previously, Micron invested in the facility over a billion dollars and the second expansion investment will see the adoption of smart manufacturing to optimize production and yield.
The assembly and test facility in Malaysia will be the first in Micron’s global network to be powered by 100% renewable energy. The company is seeking to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and zero hazardous waste to landfills by 2030.
The move also continues Micron’s manufacturing expansion that includes what it claims is the first new memory manufacturing fab in the U.S. in 20 years in a Boise, Idaho, facility. The investment of $15 billion is part of a multi-billion-dollar spending spree over the next 20 years to increase semiconductor manufacturing for leading-edge memory products.
While the memory market has been struggling in the past few years due to oversupply and low average selling prices, things are looking up. In fact, many memory manufacturers believe the bottom has already happened in the second quarter of this year and expect a recovery to begin in earnest in 2024.
