2023-08-08 12:35:00
Berlin, Munich Prominent newcomer for German industry: The chip group TSMC is investing in a plant in Dresden. That was decided by the board of directors of the world’s largest contract manufacturer in the semiconductor industry this Tuesday.
Chips with structure sizes of 22 and 28 nanometers and 12 and 16 nanometers are to be produced in the new factory. These are the components that German car manufacturers in particular need. For comparison: With its most complex and advanced processes, TSMC produces chips with a structural size of three nanometers.
“This investment in Dresden underscores TSMC’s commitment to serving our customers’ strategic capacity and technology needs, and we welcome the opportunity to deepen our long-standing partnership with Bosch, Infineon and NXP,” said TSMC CEO CC Wei. “Europe is an extremely promising location for semiconductor innovations, especially in the automotive and industrial sectors.”
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) explained: “With the investment by TSMC, another global player in the semiconductor industry is coming to Germany.” The investment by TSMC will make a substantial contribution to securing the supply of Germany and Europe with semiconductor chips.
The Dax group Infineon, the Dutch chip manufacturer NXP and Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, are involved in the factory. Each of these partners holds ten percent of the joint venture. TSMC does not sell semiconductors under its own name, but only supplies other suppliers.
Bosch secures the supply chain
Bosch boss Stefan Hartung sees the commitment as an opportunity to secure your own supply chain – right next to your own factory. Hartung: “We are pleased to be able to gain a global innovation leader in TSMC to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in the immediate vicinity of our semiconductor plant in Dresden.”
Robert Habeck
The Federal Minister of Economics expects the TSMC settlement to provide Germany with a more secure supply of semiconductor chips.
(Photo: dpa)
The new plant is to be built on a 50-hectare site at Dresden Airport. Economics Minister Habeck explained that many companies along the value chain and the user industries, “from large companies to medium-sized companies, would benefit from an “investment of this magnitude”.
A few years ago, Bosch had already settled right next to the future TSMC factory. According to the Free State of Saxony, the area of the chip group offers enough space to build another production facility in the future.
According to the group, TSMC is investing almost 3.5 billion euros from its own funds. According to Handelsblatt information, the federal government is expected to support the settlement with up to five billion euros, which will be financed from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF). The other three partners each account for around 500 million euros. The total volume will then be around ten billion euros.
>> Read here: No chips without water – How the industry has to solve its own environmental drama
Before the federal government can pay its support to TSMC, the EU Commission must first approve it. This release will take several months. Nevertheless, the Taiwanese company definitely wants to start construction work in the third quarter of 2024.
This is made possible by approval from the Federal Ministry of Economics for the early start of construction. “Since not only the company but also Germany as an investment location is in international competition, things have to be done quickly,” explained Habeck.
With the subsidies, the government is hoping for a more stable supply of German key sectors with semiconductors. During the pandemic, the assembly lines stood still in many places because manufacturers like TSMC from the Far East could not deliver enough.
“Silicon Saxony” attracts investments worth billions
TSMC is not the only chip group expanding in the region known as “Silicon Saxony”. In the spring, Infineon began construction work on a new plant costing five billion euros. The Munich company already operates a large location in the Saxon state capital. In addition, the contract manufacturer Globalfoundries is based in Dresden with large plants.
The federal government has recently lured two US manufacturers into the country with lavish subsidies: Intel is investing in Magdeburg and collecting ten billion euros from the state for it. Wolfspeed is building a much smaller plant in Saarland and will receive several hundred million euros for it.
Saxony has high hopes for the settlement: “TSMC’s commitment will attract other international companies and, above all, other skilled workers,” said Dirk Röhrborn, President of the Silicon Saxony industry association.
However, this also entails an obligation, according to Frank Bösenberg, Managing Director of Silicon Saxony. “The city planners are challenged to develop the infrastructure with the necessary speed. The previous plans must be brought into line with the needs of the future.”
More: Subsidies for chip manufacturers – “The 43 billion can only be the beginning”
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