Silicon Box has received confirmation from the Italian government for €1.3bn in funding for its new manufacturing facility in northern Italy.
The new semiconductor assembly and testing facility will be used for panel-level production.
"Panel-level" refers to a packaging approach where semiconductor components are processed and packaged on large, rectangular panels rather than traditional circular wafers, offering potential cost savings and increased efficiency.
Building the facility
The multi-year investment will replicate Silicon Box’s flagship foundry in Singapore, which has proven capability and capacity for advanced semiconductor packaging solutions, before expanding further into 3D integration and testing.
When completed, the new facility will support approximately 1,600 Silicon Box employees in Italy.
The construction of the facility is also expected to create several thousand more jobs, including eventual hiring by suppliers.
Stantec, a global engineering and architecture, expert along with partner Drees & Sommer, have been selected by Silicon Box for the new project.
In addition, Germany-based CRC (Clean Room Consulting) has been involved with the cleanroom design and sustainable solutions according to EU standards.
“We are proud to contribute our premium engineering expertise to this pioneering semiconductor project!” CRC stated.
Facilities will be constructed according to green building principles and will operate with high environmental standards to minimise carbon footprint and environmental impact.
The new first-of-its-kind advanced manufacturing facility in Novara will feature:
- Panel-level packaging and heterogeneous integration capabilities
- R&D center focusing on next-generation packaging solutions
- Industry 4.0 automated manufacturing systems
- Key net-zero technologies to minimise carbon footprint and environmental impact
Project timeline
Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2025, with initial production planned for Q1 2028.
The plant is expected to be operating at full capacity in 2033, processing approximately 10,000 panels per week.
Stantec
The Silicon Box plant is one of several advanced manufacturing projects currently being planned by Stantec.
The company is currently building a $2.5 billion solar panel plant for Qcells, which will quadruple its production capacity; a new iron-air battery plant called Form Factory 1, which will accelerate the mass production of low-cost, grid-scale batteries; and a battery cell plant for Agratas , a new £4 billion battery plant.