Micron starts Hiroshima fab expansion for advanced memory

Micron has broken ground on a ¥1.5 trillion factory expansion in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, with equipment installation scheduled for the second half of 2028. The project confirms earlier reporting on a new HBM plant in Japan and will focus on advanced memory, including HBM.

The Japanese government is contributing up to ¥500 billion, bringing its total support for Micron to around ¥775 billion to date. Micron remains the only overseas DRAM manufacturer operating in Japan, making the Hiroshima site strategically important for Tokyo. The facility also has historical significance for Micron, which produced its first HBM wafer there after acquiring Elpida Memory in 2013.

Micron said around 80% of the materials needed for the expansion are already sourced locally in Japan. The company is also building two leading-edge fabs in Boise, US, and has begun work on a production site near Syracuse, New York. Separately, Micron and Ford announced a long-term supply agreement for memory and storage used in Ford’s next-generation vehicles, supported in part by Micron’s Manassas, Virginia fab.