North Carolina Construction New staff writer
Pallidus, a silicon carbide semiconductor manufacturer, has announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations to York County and build a $443 million facility.
Founded in 2015, the company is expanding to meet demand in the rapidly expanding transportation, green energy and industrial power electronics markets.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the state of South Carolina, York County and the city of Rock Hill in supporting our new high-volume semiconductor silicon carbide wafer manufacturing plant and corporate headquarters,” Pallidus vice-president Global Facilities Jerry Knowles said in a statement.
“The decision to select Rock Hill, South Carolina for our next manufacturing facility was the result of extensive research to locate to a community that aligned with our innovative and collaborative spirit, offered an exceptional quality of life for our employees and is easily supported from our research and development facility in New York.”
Relocating to Rock Hill marks its first operations in South Carolina. Located at 1786 and 1800 Overview Dr., the 300,000-sq. ft. site will serve as the company’s new corporate headquarters and manufacturing plant. Pallidus’ plans include the growth of its manufacturing capacity to expand the United States’ semiconductor market.
Construction is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2023. The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project.
Also this week, Kontrolmatik Technologies hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its 3-GWh lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in South Carolina, a 500,000-sq. ft. facility in Colleton County that is expected to begin production in mid-2024, create about 575 new jobs and have an initial production capacity of 3 GWh. The company will invest $300 million in upfront capital expenditures in the new facility.
Lithium-iron phosphate cells will be produced exclusively for North American grid-scale energy storage applications at the South Carolina plant, and the company will also manufacture turnkey battery energy storage systems (BESS), including modules, cabinets and final containerized energy storage solutions.