SK hynix to mass-produce HBM4E at Indiana fab from Q3 2029, CEO says

SK hynix President Kwak Noh-jung speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for an advanced packaging fab at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Thursday (local time). [SK hynix YouTube]

SK hynix President Kwak Noh-jung said the company will begin mass production of HBM4E, the seventh-generation high-bandwidth memory, at its new advanced packaging facility in Indiana starting in the third quarter of 2029.

Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony held Thursday (local time) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, Kwak said the company plans to complete a clean room by October 2028 and begin mass-producing next-generation HBM in the second half of 2029. He added that the facility is designed to achieve an annual wafer production capacity in the hundreds of thousands.

"Foundation work is already underway, and construction of major facilities will begin in October," Kwak said, adding that by 2030, Indiana will become a key HBM production hub in the United States.

SK hynix announced plans in April 2024 to build an advanced packaging production base in West Lafayette, Indiana, and held the groundbreaking ceremony two years and four months later to mark the formal start of construction.

The company began foundation work in April with concrete pouring, and the Indiana fab has since progressed to the point where the structural framework and columns are now in place.

Kwak also laid out a vision for an integrated South Korea-US HBM production system to be in place by 2030, when the Indiana fab reaches full mass-production capacity.

"By 2030, advanced HBM wafers produced in South Korea will be shipped here to Indiana, where they will undergo advanced packaging and testing before being delivered to customers," Kwak said. "A fully integrated production system linking South Korea and the United States will be in operation here."

The construction site of SK hynix's advanced packaging production facility in West Lafayette, Indiana. [SK hynix YouTube]

The ceremony was attended by SK Group Vice Chairman Yoo Jung-jun, who oversees the Americas, and Lee Hyung-hee, vice chairman and head of the communications committee at SK's Supex Council.

From SK hynix, those present included President Ahn Hyun, head of development; President Kim Joo-sun, head of AI infrastructure; President Cha Sun-yong, director of the Future Technology Research Institute; and President Yum Sung-jin, head of communications.

On the US side, West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter, Indiana Governor Mike Braun, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana), and Bill Fraunhofer, director of the Commerce Department's Office of Semiconductor Investment and Innovation, each took the stage to express gratitude for SK hynix's investment.

Speakers voiced optimism that the Indiana packaging fab would spur job creation and broader regional economic development, while also building an engineering talent supply chain through research and development collaboration with Purdue University.

joze@heraldcorp.com