SK Hynix Expands Chip Production in Korea with M15X Fab

HBM memory

In response to the quickly rising demand for AI semiconductors, SK Hynix said that it intends to increase production capacity of the next-generation DRAM, including HBM, a crucial part of the AI infrastructure.

The company will construct the M15X fab in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, as a new DRAM production base, and will invest over 5.3 trillion won in fab construction, if the board of directors approves the plan.

In order to begin mass production as soon as possible, the company intends to begin building at the end of April and with the goal of finishing it in November 2025. As a result of the projected steady increase in the amount of money spent on equipment, the overall investment in the construction of the new manufacturing base is expected to exceed twenty trillion won over the course of the long term.

The growth of investment is something that SK Hynix, a global leader in artificial intelligence memory, anticipates will help to the revitalization of the domestic economy while also rejuvenating Korea’s status as a semiconductor powerhouse.

The semiconductor industry feels that the DRAM market has entered a growth period that is between the medium and long term. This belief is based on the entrance of the artificial intelligence age. The company anticipates that demand for general DRAM will be on a continuous climb, led by high-capacity DDR5 module goods for servers. This is in addition to the fact that HBM is anticipated to expand by more than sixty percent on an annual basis.

HBM demands capabilities that are at least twice as large as those required for regular DRAM products in order to achieve the same level of output. As a result, SK Hynix came to the conclusion that growing DRAM capabilities with a particular emphasis on HBM is a must for future expansion.

Before the first fab in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster is finished in the first half of 2027, the business intends to carry out the production of new DRAM based on the M15X in Cheongju. The M15X is in the greatest possible situation for optimising HBM production because it is situated in close proximity to the M15, which has been improving the capabilities of the TSV1.

It is an interconnect technology known as TSV, which stands for “through silicon via.” This technology connects higher and lower chips by means of an electrode that travels vertically through the base logic chip and DRAM chips. Depending on the design of the chip, there may be thousands of pass-through transistor switching devices (TSVs).

Separately, SK Hynix will move forward with other domestic investments, such as injecting around 120 trillion won into the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. This is in accordance with the existing strategy.

A process rate for groundwork that has reached 26%, which is 3% quicker than the plan, indicates that the Yongin project is making progress and gaining momentum. The development of the infrastructure, which includes everything from roads to power and water, is also picking up speed. Major preparatory activities, such as land compensation procedures and the investigation of cultural properties, have been finished. According to the company’s plans, the building of the first fab in Yongin is scheduled to begin in March of the following year and will be finished in May of 2027.

When it comes to total domestic investments, SK Hynix’s investment is a key tenet for the larger SK Group. In line with its Future Vision project, SK Hynix has invested a total of 46 trillion won since 2014 to construct three new factories in Korea: M14 in Icheon, M15 in Cheongju in 2018, and M16 in Icheon in 2021. This was done after the company was incorporated into the SK Group in 2012.

In addition to generating a momentum that will serve to revitalise the local economy, SK Hynix anticipates that the investment for the M15X and Yongin Cluster will assist in advancing Korea to a stronger artificial intelligence semiconductor powerhouse.

M15X will play a critical role as a stepping stone connecting the company’s present and future, according to Kwak Noh-Jung, President and CEO of SK hynix. “With metamorphosis into a key facilities that supplies AI memories to the world,” said Kwak Noh-Jung. SK Hynix is certain that this investment will be a significant step forward that extends beyond the private sector in terms of its contribution to the future of the domestic economy as a whole.

Regarding the SK Hynix

The world’s leading supplier of semiconductors, SK Hynix, with its headquarters in Korea, provides CMOS image sensors (CIS), flash memory chips (NAND flash), and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) to a wide range of prestigious clients worldwide. The Luxembourg Stock Exchange lists the shares held by the Global Depository, whereas the Korea Exchange trades the Company’s shares.

The Alienware M15X uses DDR3 SDRAM