Showa Denko's Program to Develop 8-inch SiC Wafers for Next-generation Green Power Semiconductor Selected for NEDO's
Green Innovation Fund Projects
TOKYO, May 24, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Showa Denko (SDK) (TOKYO: 4004) proposed its "Project to Develop SiC Wafers
Technology for Next-generation Green Power Semiconductors(1)" (hereinafter "the Project") to New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as a candidate for "Projects to Develop Wafers Technology for Next-generation
Power Semiconductors" which was set as a research and development target of "Next-generation Digital Infrastructure
Construction(2)" in "Green Innovation Fund Projects" (hereinafter GI Fund Projects). And the Project has been selected
for GI Fund Projects by NEDO.
In October 2020, the Japanese Government declared that it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Aiming to
significantly accelerate efforts toward structural changes in the energy and industrial sectors and undertake bold
investment for innovation, which are necessary for achievement of the above national target, Ministry of Energy, Trade
and Industry (METI) decided in October 2020 to develop a Green Innovation Fund at the level of 2 trillion yen as part of
the NEDO. The plan of GI Fund Projects, which are based on the specific goals shared by public and private sectors, is
to continuously support companies and other organizations, which show their commitment to challenge such ambitious goals
as their business issues ranging from research and development (R) to demonstrations to social implementation of the outcomes.
SDK's business to manufacture SiC epitaxial wafers for power semiconductors (hereinafter SiC epi-wafers) has conducted
business transactions with leading power semiconductor manufacturers inside and outside Japan, and has the global-top
share in the SiC epi-wafers market(3). In the Project, SDK plans to make the most of its resources including intelligent
property portfolio and development know-how, develop SiC epi-wafers with a diameter of 8 inches, and reduce density of
deficiencies by one digit or more, thereby reducing production cost of next-generation power semiconductors. This time,
NEDO highly appreciated SDK's aggressive proposal and its SiC epi-wafers business's good performance. As a result, NEDO
selected SDK's proposal for GI Fund Projects. The Project's implementation period will be 9 years, from fiscal 2022 to
fiscal 2030. In the Project, SDK will develop technology to accelerate growth rate of SiC bulk single crystal in
cooperation with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).
The Showa Denko Group aims to be a "Co-Creative Chemical Company" and contribute to the sustainable development of
global society. Under this vision, SDK positions its operation to produce SiC epitaxial wafers, which contributes to
efficient use of energy, as a next-generation business, and will allocate much of our business resources. The Group will
continue contributing to the spread of SiC power semiconductors by maintaining "Best in Class" as its motto and
continuing provision of high-performance and highly-reliable products.
*1. Next-generation green power semiconductors are power semiconductors used in xEVs, power equipment for renewable
energies, power modules for servers, etc., made from next-generation materials including SiC.
*2. URL for Projects to Next-generation Digital Infrastructure Construction is https://tinyurl.com/green-innovation-nedo
*3. SDK has the global-top share in the market as an independent supplier of SiC epitaxial wafers.
About Showa Denko K.K.
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; TSE:4004, ADR:SHWDY) is a major manufacturer of chemical products serving from heavy industry to
computers and electronics. The Petrochemicals Sector provides cracker products such as ethylene and propylene, the
Chemicals Sector provides industrial, high-performance and high-purity gases and chemicals for semicon and other
industries, the Inorganics Sector provides ceramic products, such as alumina, abrasives, refractory/graphite electrodes
and fine carbon products. The Aluminum Sector provides aluminum materials and high-value-added fabricated aluminum, the
Electronics Sector provides HD media, compound semiconductors such as ultra high bright LEDs, and rare earth magnetic
alloys, and the Advanced Battery Materials Department (ABM) provides lithium-ion battery components. For more
information, please visit www.sdk.co.jp/english/.