Tsmc (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the Taiwanese semiconductor giant, aims at Europe and chooses Germany to build its new factory. In fact, the company has announced a 3,5 billion euro investment for the construction of its first European plant in the city of Dredsa.
Tsmc foresees a partnership with Bosch, Infineon and NXP Semiconductors at European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC extension) to provide advanced semiconductor manufacturing services. Strong support from the Berlin government and the European Union is expected. The project is planned under the European Chips Act.
Esmc: over 10 billion in investment and 2.000 jobs
La new joint venture will be 70% owned by Tsmc. Bosch, Infineon and NXP will each hold a 10% stake, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. The total investments they should exceed 10 billion euros consisting of capital injection, debt and strong support from the European Union and the German government. The German state is expected to invest around five billion euros in subsidies, through the Federal Climate and Transformation Fund. The fab will be managed by TSMC.
The new factory it will create about 2.000 jobs highly specialized in the field of technology. Esmc aims to start construction of the factory in the second half of 2024 and expects to start production by the end of 2027.
TSMC sees the new company as a significant step towards building a 300mm factory for meet the growing capacity needs of the automotive and industrial sectors. The final investment decision will depend on confirmation of public funding for the project.
“This investment in Dresden demonstrates theTSMC's commitment to serving strategic capabilities and technology needs of our customers, and we are excited about this opportunity to deepen our long-standing partnerships with Bosch, Infineon and NXP. Europe is a very promising place for semiconductor innovation, especially in the automotive and industrial sectors, and we look forward to bringing such innovations to life on our advanced silicon technology with talent in Europe,” he said. CC Wei, CEO TSMC.
Germany becomes the European chip center
Tsmc's first European plant represents the umpteenth success for Berlin in the sector after conquering the new Intel factory in Europe.
The German government will provide a 10 billion euro grant for the establishment of the Intel plant near the city of Magdeburg, representing the largest foreign direct investment in the country's modern history.
Germany plans to invest around 20 billion euros in the semiconductor industry in the next years. The goal is reduce dependence on Asian manufacturing and build national capacities, providing subsidies through the EU Chips Act.
New Tsmc factory also in the United States
The Taiwanese company had already announced a investment of 40 billion dollars for the construction of a new plant in Arizona. However, TSMC said it postponed the start of production from 2024 to 2025 due to a lack of skilled labour. To address the shortage of skilled personnel, the company will send skilled technicians from Taiwan to train local workers and speed up production start-up time.
