SK Hynix secured crucial approval from West Lafayette City Council for its $3.8 billion high-bandwidth memory packaging plant in Indiana, following a contentious public hearing that stretched past 2 a.m. The council voted 6-3 to rezone a residential area near Purdue University for the facility.
The site change represents a strategic positioning for the South Korean chipmaker, as the new location offers better accessibility to the city center and university compared to its originally planned site. Both properties are owned by Purdue Research Center.
Over 100 local residents attended the hearing, with many voicing strong opposition based on environmental pollution concerns. These objections ultimately failed to outweigh the council’s interest in securing what local officials described as the largest investment in the city’s history.
The approval accelerates SK Hynix’s efforts to expand its US supply chain, widely seen as a defensive move against potential tariff pressures from the Trump administration. The larger site also provides flexibility for future expansion.
With regulatory hurdles now cleared, the company aims to begin operations in the second half of 2028. The facility will focus on packaging high-bandwidth memory chips, critical components for artificial intelligence applications.
