SKC Subsidiary Absolics Receives $100 Million U.S. R&D Grant... Semiconductor Glass Substrate Manufacturing

Chairman Chey Tae-won (center) is taking a commemorative photo with members at Absolix located in Covington, Georgia, USA, in July this year. Photo by SK

Absolix, a semiconductor glass substrate subsidiary of SKC, will receive approximately $100 million (about 140 billion KRW) in research and development (R&D) subsidies in the United States.

According to industry sources on the 22nd, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 21st (local time) that the Absolix consortium was selected as one of the recipients of R&D subsidies in the advanced substrate sector under the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) of the CHIPS Act.

The consortium led by Absolix includes over 30 partners such as big tech companies, academia, and non-profit organizations. It was the only one selected in the glass substrate field. Accordingly, Absolix became the first semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) company to receive a production subsidy of $75 million (about 105 billion KRW) under the Semiconductor Act, and now it will also receive R&D subsidies.

Semiconductor glass substrates are regarded as a "game changer" for processing large volumes of data at high speed, such as for artificial intelligence (AI). Compared to conventional silicon interposer substrates, they are known to be 40% faster in speed and can reduce power consumption, package thickness, and production time by more than half.

Absolix is a subsidiary established by SKC in 2021 for the high-performance computing semiconductor glass substrate business. Recently, it completed a mass production plant for high-performance semiconductor packaging glass substrates in Covington, Georgia. Mass production is targeted for the end of next year.

The Absolix Covington Glass Substrate Plant 1 is the world's first mass production plant for glass substrates. It has an operational area of 12,000 square meters. Plans are also underway to build a second plant with an area exceeding 72,000 square meters in the future.