SK hynix Seeks U.S. Approval for Dalian Tool Shipments

SK hynix is reportedly asking the U.S. government to authorize additional semiconductor manufacturing equipment shipments to its Dalian facility in China, according to tomshardware.com. In exchange, the company has proposed building a new 3D NAND fab in the United States.

Its subsidiary Solidigm has requested U.S. export licenses for additional tools, but the U.S. government has not yet authorized the shipments. Solidigm wants to install the equipment in unused portions of its Dalian Mod B facility, which was completed in 2023.

The proposal follows earlier reports that Solidigm was considering a 3D NAND fab in the U.S., which came as a surprise last month. In December 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department granted SK hynix a limited authorization for equipment deliveries to Dalian for 2026, but it has not issued a similar authorization for 2027.

Solidigm never fully equipped Dalian Mod B because of the memory market downturn at the time. The company is also considering an initial public offering as early as 2027 to raise additional capital.

Equipment suppliers in focus

Any authorized tool shipments would involve American semiconductor equipment suppliers such as Applied Materials, KLA and Lam Research. At Computex 2026, Avi Shetty, who leads Solidigm's AI solutions and ecosystem business, said the company intended to develop 5th and 6th Generation floating-gate NAND beyond its existing 192-layer technology, emphasizing maximizing factory utilization and profitability.