Project Bulletin: October 31, 2023

Solar cells produced at the Indiana facility will be used at the company’s Mesquite, Texas assembly plant.

Photo courtesy of Canadian Solar

Yesterday, Ontario-based solar manufacturer Canadian Solar Inc. announced plans for an $800 million solar photovoltaic cell facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The new plant will be located 16 miles outside of Louisville, Kentucky, at the River Ridge Commerce Center and is expected to have an annual output of five gigawatts. “Establishing this factory is a key milestone that will enable us to better serve our U.S. customers with the most advanced technology in the industry. This is the second of the anticipated long-term investments we expect to make in the U.S. as we think strategically about a local, sustainable and clean energy supply chain and to fulfill the long-term requirements of the local-content rules of the recently established IRA [Inflation Reduction Act],” said Canadian Solar Senior Vice President Thomas Koerner. This announcement follows news of the company’s previously announced assembly plant in Mesquite, Texas, which will use solar cells produced at this facility. Canadian Solar anticipates its Jeffersonville location will begin operations in 2025, creating 1,200 new jobs.

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This joint venture is a result of increased efforts to attract semiconductor manufacturers to Japan.

Photo courtesy of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation

While a definitive location has yet to be determined, Taiwan-based Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) and Japan-based investment company SBI Holdings are eyeing Japan’s northern prefecture Miyagi as the location of a new semiconductor facility. The initial phase of JV investment is expected to be in the ballpark of $2.6 billion, subsidized by the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Construction for phase one will start in 2024 with completion anticipated in 2026. As operations begin the JV aims for a monthly production capacity of 10,000 silicon wafers, servicing automotive and IT industries in the region.

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Prestige Biopharma’s Busan research center aims to streamline antibody drug development.

Photo courtesy of Prestige Biopharma

By May 2024, Prestige Biopharma will have opened doors to its new $152 million Innovation Discovery Center (IDC) in Busan, South Korea. The over 333,000 sq. ft. research center aligns with the company’s goal of completing its value chain of research, development and production of new antibody drugs. The IDC will soon house Prestige Biopharma’s main R&D unit, in addition to creating about 145 new jobs by 2030. Once open, the IDC will make space available to the company’s open innovation partners, including medical institutions, for R&D capabilities while helping reduce costs associated with those measures. Prestige and the city originally signed an MOU for the project in May 2021. In September the IDC was designated as an “Advanced Investment Zone” by the Korean Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore