SK Hynix links bid to ship US chip tools to China to plans for a US factory

SK Hynix is seeking US approval to send American chipmaking equipment to its Dalian plant in China, tying the request to talks over a proposed US factory.

The South Korean memory chipmaker has linked the export request to plans by its US unit, Solidigm, to build a new NAND flash memory factory in the United States. Solidigm makes NAND flash memory and solid-state drives.

The immediate target is unused manufacturing space at the Dalian facility known as Mod B, for which Solidigm wants additional equipment. SK Hynix said installation in the Mod B area was proceeding in consultation with, and with authorisation from, the US government.

The company said it was not seeking to expand capacity in Dalian. Yet one source said greater output in China could help finance the proposed US plant, while SK Hynix wants to raise NAND production during a global memory-chip shortage that has pushed prices sharply higher.

That makes the arrangement a test of the export-control plumbing. The US restricts exports of chipmaking equipment to China on national-security grounds. The Commerce Department has withdrawn exemptions that had allowed SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics to receive American equipment at Chinese facilities without individual licences.

A 2026 Commerce Department licence limits the quantities of equipment that can be supplied. A licence for further US equipment and technology in 2027 has yet to be issued, according to one source. SK Hynix’s ability to finish installing equipment in Dalian will therefore depend on US regulatory approvals.

The Dalian site uses tools from US suppliers including Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA. The report described SK Hynix as playing hardball with the Trump administration over a 3D NAND fab.

Solidigm is considering an initial public offering as early as 2027 to help finance the planned US investment. The report disclosed no final decision on an IPO, a factory location or the size of the investment. SK Hynix has also not disclosed the value of equipment in its latest request or a timetable for completing the Dalian installation.