• Investment of more than 20 trillion won aimed at preemptively responding to soaring demand for HBM
• Plans to complete construction of new fab in November 2025 for early mass production
• Major investment to enhance AI memory market leadership, contribute to domestic economy
• To proceed with separate plan to invest 120 trillion won in Yongin Cluster to strengthen Korea’s status as a semiconductor powerhouse

SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it plans to expand production capacity of the next-generation DRAM including HBM, a core component of the AI infrastructure, in response to the rapidly increasing demand for AI semiconductors.

As the board of directors approves the plan, the company will build the M15X fab in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, for a new DRAM production base, and invest about 5.3 trillion won for fab construction.

The company plans to start construction at the end of April with an aim to complete in November 2025 for an early mass production. With a gradual increase in equipment investment planned, the total investment in building the new production base will be more than 20 trillion won in the long-term.

As a global leader in AI memory, SK hynix expects the expansion in investment to contribute to revitalizing the domestic economy, while refreshing Korea’s reputation as a semiconductor powerhouse.

With the advent of the AI era, the semiconductor industry believes that the DRAM market has entered a mid- to long-term growth phase. Along with HBM, which is expected to grow more than 60% annually, the company forecasts that demand for general DRAM will be on a steady rise led by high-capacity DDR5 module products for servers.

As HBM requires at least twice as large capabilities to secure the same production as general DRAM products, SK hynix decided that increasing DRAM capabilities with a focus on HBM is a precondition for future growth.

The company plans to produce new DRAM from the M15X in Cheongju before the completion of the first fab in Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in the first half of 2027. Being located near the M15, which has been expanding TSV¹ capabilities, the M15X is the best conditioned for optimization of HBM production.

¹TSV (Through Silicon Via): An interconnect technology that links upper and lower chips with an electrode that vertically passes through the base logic chip and DRAM chips. There can be thousands of pass-through TSVs depending on the chip design

Birds Eye View of SK hynix’s New Fab M15X construction

Separately, SK hynix will proceed with other domestic investments including the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, where it will to inject approximately 120 trillion won, as planned.

The Yongin project is gaining speed with the process rate for groundwork marking 26%, which is 3% faster than the target. Major preparatory works including land compensation procedures and investigation of cultural properties have been completed, and construction of the infrastructure ranging from power and water to roads is also gaining speed. The company plans to start construction of the first fab in Yongin in March next year and complete it in May 2027.

For a broader SK Group, investment by SK hynix is a main pillar when it comes to overall domestic investments. Since incorporation into SK Group in 2012, SK hynix has invested an accumulated 46 trillion won since 2014 to build three new fabs — M14 in Icheon, M15 in Cheongju in 2018, and M16 in Icheon in 2021 – in Korea in accordance with its Future Vision initiative.

SK hynix expects that the investment for the M15X and Yongin Cluster to help advance Korea to a stronger AI semiconductor powerhouse, while providing a momentum to vitalize the local economy.

“With transformation into a key facility that supplies AI memories to the world, M15X will play a pivotal role as stepping stone connecting the company’s present and future,” said Kwak Noh-Jung, President and CEO of SK hynix. “We are confident that this investment will be a giant leap that goes beyond the private sector for contribution to the future of the broader domestic economy.”

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

Media Contact

SK hynix Inc.
Global Public Relations

Technical Leader
Sooyeon Lee
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

Technical Leader
Kanga Kong
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

The post SK hynix to Produce DRAM From M15X in Cheongju first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

• Company to break ground in October, complete construction in early 2025 with plan to invest 15 trillion won over 5 years
• M15X to be first new fab since company commemorated 10th anniversary this year
• Investment during economic downturn to lay foundation for future growth

SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it will build the M15X(eXtension), a new fabrication plant, in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, in preparation for future growth.

The company will start construction of the M15 extension on the site it secured previously earlier than initially planned, considering various market situations.

The new plant will be built from October on the 60,000㎡ land located in the Cheongju Technopolis industrial complex and completed early 2025. A total of 15 trillion won will be injected over the next five years to build the fab and set up production facilities. The fab will be a two-story building equivalent to a combination of M11 and M12 in size.

As for the next M17 fab, the company will decide construction plan after reviewing overall business environment including changes in the semiconductor business cycle.

“Looking back on the past 10 years, SK hynix could grow into a global company as it boldly carried out investment during crisis,” said Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Park Jung-ho. “As we look to prepare for the next 10 years now, I believe starting the M15X will be a first step to lay foundation for a solid future growth.”

SK hynix has so far solidified its leadership in the memory market through preemptive and bold investments despite rapid changes in business environment. In 2012, when the broader industry was scaling back investments and the company was in the red, SK hynix decided to increase investment by more than 10% compared with a year ago, resulting in a dramatic turnaround by the end of the year. Market uncertainties continued to linger, but in 2015, the company built the M14 fab in Icheon to prepare for the next boom in the memory business, which led to record-high financial results for two straight years from 2017.

Since it became a member of SK Group in 2012, SK hynix has pushed forward investments for the next 10 years in accordance with the Future Vision it has made public in 2015. The Vision was the company’s pledge that it will invest 46 trillion won from 2014 to build three more fabrication plants including the M14 in Icheon. Such promise was met earlier than targeted following completion of the M15 in Cheongju and the M16 in Icheon in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

Demand for memory chips is rapidly falling in the wake of the global economic slowdown and instability of the supply chain, but experts foresee that the business will start to recover steadily from 2024 and rebound in 2025 as the memory business cycle is increasingly getting less volatile in recent years.

The plan to build the M15X comes as SK hynix prepares for the next upturn expected to come in 2025. With the construction of the M15X, the company will be ready to provide more memory chips when the industry enters a boom again.

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

Media Contact

SK hynix Inc.
Global Public Relations

Technical Leader
Kanga Kong
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

Technical Leader
Jaehwan Kevin Kim
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

The post SK hynix to Build M15X Fab in Cheongju first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.