According to the company it will use the expansion to increase production of its proprietary 3D Flash memory BiCS FLASH. Construction of the facility is scheduled to commence in April 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2023.
The new facility will use AI-based cutting-edge manufacturing to increase the production capacity of the entire Kitakami Plant and will help to further enhance product quality. KIOXIA said that it was looking to expand its business organically and take advantage of the medium to long term growth of the flash memory market driven by the accelerating adoption of cloud services, 5G, IoT, AI, automated driving and the metaverse.
The Fab2 facility will be built on the east side of the existing Fab1 facility at Kitakami. It will have an earthquake-resistant architectural structure and environmentally friendly design that utilises state-of-the-art, energy-saving manufacturing equipment and renewable energy sources. KIOXIA plans to fund the capital investments for the construction of the Fab2 from its operating cash flow.
“The construction of Fab2 is a key milestone for KIOXIA to further strengthen our strategic development and production capability for advanced memory products, so that we will be in an even better competitive position to address the increasing market demand for memory products,” said Nobuo Hayasaka, President and CEO, KIOXIA.
Kioxia plans to hold discussions with Western Digital in regards to expanding the flash joint venture to the K2 investment.
