ROHM completes construction of a new environmentally friendly building at its Apollo Chikugo to expand production capacity of SiC power devices

ROHM has recently held an opening ceremony announcing the completion of a new building at ROHM Apollo’s Chikugo plant started in February 2019 to enhance the production capacity of SiC power devices.

The new building is a state-of-the-art environmentally friendly factory that introduces a number of energy-saving technologies to its production facilities, with 100% of its electricity coming from renewable energy sources.

In addition, we have strengthened our BCM (Business Continuity Management) system by introducing various disaster countermeasures. And from January 2021, we will begin installing production equipment and build a manufacturing system that can meet the medium- to long-term increases in demand for SiC power devices. ROHM, which has been mass producing SiC power devices including SiC SBDs and MOSFETs since 2010, continues to lead the industry in technological development, such as by introducing the industry’s first full SiC power modules and SiC trench MOSFETs. At the same time, boasting an integrated production system, ROHM is working to improve production efficiency by increasing wafer diameter and utilizing the latest equipment while also reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing.

In addition to this new building, SiCrystal GmbH, a ROHM company that manufactures SiC wafers, is scheduled to start operating with 100% renewable energy from the next fiscal year, reducing CO2 emissions from purchased power at the plant to zero. As a result, all major production processes for SiC wafers will use environmentally friendly renewable energy.

In response to the urgent need to address global energy issues, the ROHM will continue to improve SiC power device performance – expected to be key to achieving energy saving in electric vehicles and industrial equipment – contributing to reducing environmental impact by promoting the use of eco-friendly equipment and renewable energy in the production process.

Overview of the New ROHM Apollo Building

The new building is designed to save energy by introducing measures such as a high-efficiency air conditioning system that makes effective use of exhaust heat, a pure water production system, and LED lighting, reducing CO2 emissions by 20% (approx. 7,000 tons) over conventional facilities.

And in addition to adopting seismically isolated structures (including ancillary areas) against earthquakes, we have introduced flood countermeasures, gas fire extinguishing equipment, and emergency generators to prepare for a variety of disasters.