As global chip production capacity tightens, the automotive industry is particularly suffering from a “chip shortage.” A fire broke out on Friday at Renesas, the world’s third-largest automotive chip manufacturer, in one of its 12-inch chip factories. Although the fire was quickly extinguished, Renesas has decided to temporarily halt production at this 12-inch line, with no plans for resumption currently in place.
It seems that misfortunes come in pairs; many automotive chip manufacturers have recently halted production due to force majeure, further tightening the chip supply for major automotive companies worldwide, forcing many large automakers to temporarily cease production. The shutdown of Renesas’s 12-inch line will undoubtedly worsen the automotive chip shortage.
Earlier this year, an earthquake in Japan caused Renesas’s chip factory to halt production for nearly half a month. In mid to late February, extreme cold weather in Texas, USA, led to water and power outages, causing two factories of NXP, the world’s largest automotive chip manufacturer, to stop production. Samsung Electronics, the second-largest chip manufacturer, and Infineon, an automotive chip producer, also faced production halts at their local facilities.
According to reports from Renesas, a fire broke out at 2:47 AM local time on Friday in the N3 building of the NAKA factory in Ibaraki Prefecture. The fire was confirmed extinguished by 8:12 AM, and some supporting public facilities were damaged. Renesas is currently assessing the extent of the damage, but there were no casualties. The 8-inch line located in the N2 building of the NAKA factory was not affected by the fire.
As of 11 PM on Friday, Renesas could not confirm whether the fire affected the cleanroom (the main chip production area) safety, nor could they enter the cleanroom to determine the cause of the fire. A site investigation will be conducted by the police and fire department at 9 AM on Saturday. Renesas stated that once the cause of the fire and the extent of the impact are determined, the company will issue a public announcement.
Renesas has not disclosed what type of chips were primarily produced on the damaged production line, but half of the company’s revenue comes from the automotive market, producing various chips used in vehicles, such as those for sensors and power devices.
With the rapid development of semiconductor process technology, chip line widths have entered the nanometer range, and the corresponding products have increasingly stringent requirements for the semiconductor production environment. Therefore, the operational status of the cleanroom systems in semiconductor purification engineering significantly impacts the quality and yield of silicon chips. The smoke and dust from the fire can cause substantial damage to the chip production environment.
Source: Caixin
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