A new 8-inch silicon carbide device manufacturing facility officially commenced operations on Thursday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The project, which was established in 2023 by Sanan Optoelectronics, a leading compound semiconductor company in China, and STMicroelectronics, a world leader in semiconductor solutions, is expected to achieve mass production in the fourth quarter of this year, both companies announced at the project's inauguration ceremony.

The new facility has a total investment of about 23 billion yuan (3.2 billion U.S. dollars) and was launched in just 16 months. It will primarily manufacture automotive-grade chips. Once fully operational, it will produce approximately 10,000 automotive-grade wafers per week, providing strong support for the development of Chongqing's integrated circuit industry and intelligent connected new energy vehicle sector.

In recent years, Chongqing has focused on developing its power semiconductor and integrated circuit industries. In 2024, the output value of Chongqing's integrated circuit industry was 45.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.3 percent, and its power semiconductor production capacity ranked among the top three in the country.