Japan Aims to Build Lunar Microchip Factory by 2040
Rapidus Corp, a Japanese company, is planning to build a microchip factory on the Moon by 2040. According to Atsuyoshi Koike, President and CEO of Rapidus Corp, the project will rely on lunar water resources for production. This ambitious initiative has already sparked interest from entrepreneur Elon Musk, who is working on transporting humans and cargo to space via SpaceX.
The company is currently collaborating with IBM to mass-produce 2nm-class microchips at its plant in Hokkaido. The partnership includes technical support from IBM and R&D for more advanced 1nm-range chips. Koike believes that the idea of space-based manufacturing is a logical continuation of these high-tech processes.
The realization of the lunar factory project is directly linked to the availability of water resources required for microchip production. Establishing industrial facilities outside Earth's jurisdiction could fundamentally change the development vector of the global technology market in the future.