Rapidus picks Hokkaido for $36bn 2nm fab

Earlier today Rapidus, the Japanese government-backed chip company, said it will build a $36.7 billion  2nm logic fab at Chitose City in Hokkaido Prefecture.

The decision was announced by Rapidus President Koike Atsuyoshi (pictured) and the Governor  of Hokkaido, Suzuki Naomichi.

The fab will  mass-produce 2nm ICs starting in 2027. Rapidus will develop the chips with IBM.

“We aim to produce semiconductors made in Japan that contribute to the world,” said Koike, “we decided that Hokkaido is the best place to achieve that.”

“The effect of the factory construction in terms of investment and employment is expected to be a huge.,” said Suzuki. “This will be one of the biggest projects so far for Hokkaido, so we would like to move firmly forward.”

Chitose City is 36 kilometers southeast of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido and near the port of  Tomakomai.

The fab will be built in an industrial park  close to automotive industry factories and a major airport.

Rapidus chairman Tetsuro Higashi says that the whole project of getting 2nm ICs into production will cost $54 billion.

Rapidus says the fab may eventually expand to about 100 hectares.

Rapidus is backed by Denso, Kioxia, MUFG Bank, NEC, NTT, SoftBank, Sony, and Toyota.