UK Government Secures Future of Gallium Arsenide Semiconductor Plant

The British government has acquired a struggling factory from Coherent Inc. to ensure domestic production of gallium arsenide semiconductors, critical for military technology, including fighter jets. The plant in Newton Aycliffe will preserve 100 skilled jobs and be renamed Octric Semiconductors UK.

In a strategic move, the British government has purchased a struggling factory from U.S. firm Coherent Inc. to secure domestic manufacturing of gallium arsenide semiconductors, vital for military technology such as fighter jets.

Announced on Friday, the acquisition of the Newton Aycliffe plant in northern England, valued at 20 million pounds ($27 million), aims to preserve 100 skilled jobs and establish the only secure domestic source for these critical semiconductors.

Historically, the UK government avoids acquiring or running companies, but the semiconductor industry's pivotal role in the economy and national security merits exceptional measures. Three years ago, the state blocked the sale of Newport Wafer Fab to a Dutch firm controlled by a Chinese entity. The government stated the factory would be renamed Octric Semiconductors UK and emphasized its strategic importance to future UK technological and economic advancements.

(With inputs from agencies.)