The Article was published in May 2024. But now Trump is in power becomes even more relevant.
A few interesting part worth noting specific to BLG. Want value should now be allocated to the US fab and its capacity. Amazing that BLG bought it for only $2.5m and then repurposed it for GaN. The asset alone could be worth more than todays market cap!!
U.S. policy efforts to increase the adoption of gallium nitride should focus on three broad areas: (1) increasing U.S. epitaxy capacity, (2) focusing on research and development (R&D) of GaN production technology, and (3) securing gallium supply chains.
Galliumis nota material that is extant in mineral deposits. Rather, as noted before, it is a byproduct of aluminum production.
While the United States is not a major producer of aluminum, major partner nations including India, Australia, and Canadahavea strong presence in this industry.
Unlike silicon fabs that require costly advanced lithography equipment, GaN production can leverage more cost-effective methods. GaN chipscan be manufacturedon eight-inch wafers using legacy (fully depreciated) equipment. In other words, cutting-edge GaN technology can be produced using fabrication equipment that is obsolete for silicon.
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