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SK Hynix says it is not seeking more capacity at its Dalian Mod B facility and that equipment installation has U.S. authorization. No factory-for-equipment agreement has been confirmed.
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Reuters reported on October 15 that Solidigm is seeking U.S. authorization to install additional chipmaking equipment at SK Hynix’s Dalian plant, with anonymous sources linking the request to a potential U.S. NAND factory. SK Hynix disputes the claim that it is seeking higher capacity at Dalian Mod B and says installations are already authorized. Whether equipment access will be tied to a U.S. investment remains unresolved, against a backdrop of annual U.S. licenses for equipment shipments to Chinese plants. NAND is used in SSDs for consumer devices and AI data centers.
Reuters’ anonymous sources, as reported by TechCrunch, said the proposed equipment would go into unused space in Dalian to increase NAND production.
SK Hynix says Dalian Mod B was completed in 2023 and that it is not seeking to expand capacity there.
Washington imposed broad chip and equipment export restrictions in October 2022, tightened them in 2023, and revoked certain China-facility exemptions in September 2025.
Solidigm is seeking U.S. permission to send additional American chipmaking equipment to China, reportedly tying that access to plans for a U.S. factory. Reuters reported the proposed arrangement on October 15, citing anonymous sources. Parent company SK Hynix disputed the capacity-expansion premise and said equipment installation is already being conducted under U.S. authorization.
The request concerns SK Hynix’s factory in Dalian, China. According to Reuters’ anonymous sources, as described by TechCrunch, Solidigm wants to install equipment in unused space there to increase production of NAND flash memory chips.
Solidigm, SK Hynix’s flash-memory unit, has also been considering a U.S. NAND factory, with upstate New York a potential location. That possibility was reported in September.
NAND chips supply storage in solid-state drives, or SSDs, used in laptops, smartphones and AI data centers. The reported negotiations therefore concern a component used across consumer devices and AI infrastructure, rather than only the advanced processors that run AI models.
The company’s response specifically named Dalian Mod B, which was completed in 2023. It also told TechCrunch that equipment installation is being carried out in consultation with the U.S. government and under its authorization.
Washington first imposed sweeping restrictions on exports of advanced chips and chipmaking equipment to China in October 2022, citing national security concerns. It tightened the rules in 2023. In September 2025, the Trump administration revoked special export exemptions for certain SK Hynix, Samsung and Intel facilities in China.
The U.S. has since granted annual licenses allowing Samsung and SK Hynix to ship chipmaking equipment to their Chinese plants. Alongside those controls, Washington has pressed for more domestic manufacturing. In July, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he wanted both companies to build U.S. chip factories and was in talks with them.
The unresolved issue is whether additional equipment permission will become a condition of Solidigm’s potential U.S. investment.
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