IBA and Wallonie Entreprendre International secure 30% stake in mi2-factory for silicon carbide-powered devices

Press releases may be edited for formatting or style | January 21, 2025 Business Affairs
Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, 21 January 2025 - IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A., EURONEXT), the world leader in particle accelerator technology, and Wallonie Entreprendre International (WE International), the international branch of the Walloon public investment company, today announce a joint strategic investment of EUR 5 million each in mi2-factory, a start-up and spin-off from the University of Applied Sciences Jena, Germany. This investment secures a 15% stake for IBA and a 15% stake for WE International.

mi2-factory specializes in nitrogen implantation in silicon carbide (SiC), an important process to improve the efficiency of SiC power semiconductor chips. Those chips are essential components in modern power electronic systems serving in a range of sectors, including electric mobility, energy generation from wind and solar, renewable energy grids, among others. The company focuses on high-energy implantation to simplify processes, reduce cost, and enhance yield and quality of SiC chips and wafers.

In line with its strong commitment to innovation, IBA is proud to support mi2-factory in advancing its lab-proven process towards industrial-grade solution. IBA’s advanced compact particle accelerator technologies are ideally suited to meet mi2’s ambitions of enabling SiC devices that combine the best attributes of quality, cost, and production capacity.

The development of mi2-factory is further supported by a grant from the Important Project of Common European Interest for Microelectronics and Communication Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT) and equity investment from the company’s current shareholders bringing its total additional resources to approximately EUR 40 million. Beyond the economic prospects that the development of this type of solution represents, the project also marks a potential advancement in strengthening European expertise in the strategic and rapidly growing field of power electronics.

Prof. Dr. Michael Rüb, CEO & Managing Director of mi2-factory, commented: “mi2-factory was seeking not only strategic and technological partners but also co-investors to strengthen our position in IPCEI projects. Partnering with IBA, the world leader in particle accelerator technologies, and Wallonie Entreprendre International, a reputable institutional partner, reinforces our expertise and know-how, positioning us as the best in class in high-energy nitrogen implantation in silicon carbide as we look to advance towards an industrial grade solution.”

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