Photo: U.S. Department of Energy (wafer research archive)
U.S. export-license delays for SK Hynix’s chip operations in China are complicating plans for a major memory-chip investment in New York, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The South Korean chipmaker is seeking permission to bring American chipmaking equipment into its Dalian facility. Its argument is that expanding production in China would generate revenue to help pay for new manufacturing capacity in the United States, according to the report by Karen Freifeld.
Two people told Reuters that SK Hynix’s Solidigm unit plans to build two NAND memory plants in Marcy, New York, with an initial investment of about $45 billion and spending potentially reaching about $100 billion over time. Those figures and the location remain source-based reporting, not a final investment announcement by the company.
Licenses remain under negotiation
Commerce Department approval for the Dalian expansion is central to the New York plans, the people said. NAND memory retains information without power and is used to store data, including in data centers.
Solidigm executives have met with Commerce officials nearly 10 times since late August, one person told Reuters. The company needs more production and more sophisticated NAND manufacturing in China to generate revenue for a U.S. facility and remain competitive, the people said.
In a meeting last week, Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler maintained that Washington would not allow additional American tools to upgrade or expand capacity, one person said. But the department has not formally denied the license for equipment intended to fill unused clean space in Dalian, Reuters reported.
The two sides are also discussing a separate 2027 license for equipment needed to maintain the Dalian operation. Negotiations are continuing; the reported holdup does not mean that either the licenses or the New York project have been canceled.
Solidigm says no location decision has been made
Solidigm reiterated a statement from last week saying it regularly evaluates strategic alternatives and is exploring potential locations around the world for a NAND memory fabrication plant. “No decision regarding any specific course of action has been made,” the company said.
The talks put two U.S. policy goals in tension: drawing chip production and foreign investment to American soil while restricting technology that could support China’s military. Leland Miller, a member of the congressionally created U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, told Reuters that White House approval would ultimately be needed for the plans to move forward.
SK Hynix, the Commerce Department and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The account describes unresolved negotiations and conditional plans, not an approved New York factory investment.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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