SK hynix offers US 3D NAND fab in exchange for China equipment export licenses

SK hynix's swap offer to the US

According to Reuters, SK hynix is asking the US government to authorize additional semiconductor manufacturing equipment shipments to its Dalian facility in China. In return, the company has reportedly committed to building a new 3D NAND fab in the US. The move follows last month's reports that Solidigm was considering building a 3D NAND fab in America.

Why Dalian matters

Dalian is the world's only facility producing the 192-layer floating gate 3D NAND used in Solidigm's SSDs for AI, enterprise, and hyperscale data centers. Its operations rely on equipment from US suppliers including Applied Materials, KLA, and Lam Research, whose exports to China require a US government license.

The licensing bottleneck

The US tends to authorize shipments of some tools to facilities in China operated by multinationals like Samsung or SK hynix, but it wants to keep those fabs running rather than expand capacity or introduce new manufacturing technologies there. Last December, the Commerce Department granted SK hynix a limited authorization for equipment deliveries to Dalian for 2026, but no similar authorization has been issued for 2027.

Unused space and lost revenue

Solidigm wants to install additional manufacturing equipment in unused portions of its Dalian Mod B facility, completed in 2023. The building was never fully equipped because of the memory market downturn, so while some tools are installed, substantial space remains unused. Since Solidigm sells every SSD it produces, unused capacity means lost revenue. Because the building was completed in 2023, installing tools there does not constitute a capacity expansion.

US fab and a possible IPO

Additional NAND production in China could generate profits that Solidigm could use to finance its proposed American fab and support operations until domestic capacity becomes available. The company is also considering an initial public offering as early as 2027 to raise additional capital. Solidigm has previously confirmed its commitment to further developing floating gate 3D NAND technology.