Aug. 9—The owners of a high-tech factory in Hudson that manufactures a key material needed to improve the efficiency of electric vehicles will celebrate the facility's expansion Thursday with a visit from U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Raimondo, a former governor of Rhode Island, is scheduled to appear at Sagamore Industrial Park, where the Phoenix-based company onsemi has been expanding the creation of silicon carbide materials following its acquisition of GTAT Technologies last year.

The noon-time ribbon-cutting, which will also feature all four members of the New Hampshire congressional delegation, comes less than two weeks after Congress passed $280 billion bipartisan legislation to boost the semiconductor industry. President Biden is expected to sign it Tuesday.

Hassane El-Khoury, the president and chief executive of onsemi, is also expected to be on hand for the event.

Silicon carbide is a key material in next-generation semiconductors that will significantly improve system efficiency in electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging and energy infrastructure, according to past statements by onsemi.

When onsemi announced the acquisition of GTAT in August 2021, it said the transaction will allow it to secure and grow its supply of silicon carbide to meet rapidly growing customer demand in the electric vehicle industry.

"This transaction reflects our confidence and stated commitment to meaningfully invest in silicon carbide solutions to support the creation of intelligent power and sensing technologies to help build a sustainable future," El-Khoury said at the time.

GTAT has been a pioneer in the use of high-technology furnaces to manufacture products such as silicon carbide and synthetic sapphire. In 2013, the company's efforts to produce a new generation of iPhone screens flopped; it emerged from bankruptcy as a privately owned company and continued to manufacture silicon carbide and sapphire.

It had 118 employees in 2020, according to a New Hampshire Union Leader article.

Onsemi paid $415 million in cash for GTAT. In late December, the company started its Hudson expansion, refitting space at its Wentworth Drive facility for additional furnaces and then expanding into another 40,000 square feet there. Then in February, it leased 120,000 square feet at 55 Executive Drive, space that had been used by Comcast, according to the town of Hudson. In its 2021 annual report, onsemi reported 272,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Hudson and 37,000 square feet in Salem. The international company has facilities in Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China, as well as Pennsylvania, Oregon, Idaho and Maine. It counts about 33,000 workers worldwide.

The Hudson facility gives the company the capabilities to provide end-to-end power solutions from silicon carbide crystal growth to the fully integrated intelligent power modules critical to a carbon-free economy, onsemi said.