Lochgelly semiconductor manufacturer Clas-SiC Wafer Fab has been awarded £1.9m from Scottish Enterprise’s new Capital Grant, forming part of a £12m company investment in its Fife plant. It is one of the first businesses to receive money from the scheme, which was set up to lift levels of business investment and productivity.
The money pays for upgraded equipment and technology at the plant. Clas-SiC makes silicon carbide power semiconductors, which go into electric vehicles and renewable energy systems, and global demand for them is rising. Training for production staff and apprentices forms part of the package.
The company was founded in 2017 and operates a 150mm silicon carbide fabrication line. The UK Semiconductor Centre calls it the world’s first open foundry devoted solely to silicon carbide power devices.
Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn placed the award in the context of Scotland’s Critical Technologies supercluster, which he said generates £4.5 billion in annual turnover and employs over 11,000 people. “The Scottish Government is supporting the industry-led ambition to grow this to £10 billion with an additional 6,600 jobs by 2035,” he said, adding that the expansion at Lochgelly “will safeguard skilled jobs in Fife, strengthen our export base and support the fundamental technologies that will power our transition to a cleaner economy”.
Scottish Enterprise chief executive Adrian Gillespie said the investment “will safeguard jobs in Fife, strengthen Scotland’s advanced manufacturing base and improve productivity as the business continues to grow in international markets”. He described semiconductors as “one of the critical technologies shaping the global economy”.
Clas-SiC director and chief executive Jen Walls said the funding “helps accelerate our next generation of technology” and that the extra capability “will strengthen our position on the global stage and improve our ability to meet growing demand in a high growth sector”. She added: “This funding enhances our available capex and maintains our place within the technology leading global supply chain.”
Neither the Scottish Government nor Scottish Enterprise put a figure on the jobs involved.
