SK Hynix Resumes NAND Expansion at Dalian Fab, Capacity Set to Increase by ~50%
Nashnova编辑部
SK Hynix is restarting its long-shelved NAND flash expansion in Dalian, China; the second fab should hit full output by H1 2027, lifting site capacity by roughly 50%. This means → the global NAND supply map is being redrawn by AI demand and Chinese competition at the same time.
How long was the Dalian fab sitting idle — and why restart now?
The second fab broke ground in May 2022 and finished construction this year, but stayed empty — hit by a memory-market slump and U.S. export controls on chip equipment to China.
NAND subsidiary Solidigm plans to begin equipment installation in November this year, targeting full production by H1 2027.
This means → nearly three years from shell completion to actual output; the restart signals that SK Hynix sees the supply-demand inflection point arriving.
How much capacity — and what does it make?
The new fab is designed for 50,000 wafers per month. Combined with Fab 1's 100,000, the Dalian site's total capacity rises roughly 50%.
Dalian will keep producing mature NAND — around 100 layers, based on Intel's floating-gate technology — for the mass market; new capacity uses the V8 process node.
In plain terms = Dalian is the high-volume, mid-to-low-end line. SK Hynix's Cheongju M17 fab in Korea (investment: ₩19.1 trillion) handles the cutting edge — 300+ layer advanced NAND and high-bandwidth flash for AI servers.
Why is AI suddenly making NAND matter more?
Industry sources say the KV cache — context data a model stores temporarily during inference — is growing exponentially as AI inference scales up.
This means → NAND is shifting from a "supporting component" inside data centers to standalone infrastructure — the core reason SK Hynix is restarting expansion.
TrendForce projects a 4%–5% NAND supply gap in 2026; the market is not expected to rebalance until H2 2027 — roughly when Dalian Fab 2 hits full capacity.
How fast is YMTC catching up?
Counterpoint data show YMTC's Q1 2026 revenue grew nearly 445% year-on-year, lifting its global NAND share from 8% a year ago to 13%.
That puts it roughly on par with Micron and SanDisk, just below Kioxia's 14%.
YMTC's sales remain concentrated in the Chinese market; Reuters reports it is planning new fabs. This reflects a domestic demand base large enough on its own to support a fast-growing NAND supplier.
Where is the money coming from — and how is capacity lining up?
SK Hynix raised roughly $26.6 billion via a U.S. ADR listing, is evaluating a Solidigm IPO worth up to $7 billion, and is considering selling its Chongqing back-end packaging plant.
Samsung is upgrading its Xi'an fab to higher-layer NAND; Kioxia management says 2026 capacity is fully sold out.
In plain terms = every major player is doing two things at once — raising capital to expand and locking in capacity. Whoever moves faster takes the lead in the next AI-driven NAND cycle.
What to watch next?
Milestone one: whether Dalian Fab 2 hits full production on schedule in H1 2027 — a delay means SK Hynix misses the supply-gap window.
Milestone two: whether YMTC's share gains can extend beyond China — that determines if the global NAND map becomes "Big Three plus one" or "Big Four running even."
These two timelines are the key windows for tracking where global NAND competition heads next.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.