2023-08-08 16:35:00
The news is finally confirmed for Germany. The latter will host the first TSMC factory in Europe. The Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer gave the green light on Tuesday, August 8, to its establishment in Dresden, in the east of the country.
The board of directors of the group, the world’s leading manufacturer of semiconductors, formalized the decision expected for months, announcing in a press release “an equity investment of up to €3.499 billion ($3.8 billion) in a majority-owned subsidiary of TSMC, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) GmbH, in Germany”.
But in total, it is a project of more than ten billion euros in which TSMC will hold 70% and will collaborate with three European partners, the Dutch NXP and the Germans Infineon and Bosch, involved up to 10% each. “Total investments are expected to exceed 10 billion euros in the form of equity injections, loans and strong support from the European Union and the German government”said the four partners in a press release.
Welcoming this announcement, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed Germany’s becoming ” now the main production location for semiconductors in Europe ».
The day before, the German daily, Handelsblatt, had, in fact, announced the green light to come from TSMC. The German government is expected to provide support of five billion euros in grants, through the federal climate and transformation fund.
Specialized in automotive semiconductors
The project thus responds to the ambition of Western countries. The latter are trying to strengthen their control over the manufacture of these crucial components to produce all electronic objects, from laptops to cars, including missiles. The German plant will also specialize in the production of semiconductors for the automotive sector engaged in a historic change towards electrical technologies.
« Europe is a very promising place for innovation in semiconductors, especially in automotive and industrial areas “, assured Che Chia Wei, CEO of TSMC, in the press release.
The objective is to launch the construction of the factory in the second half of 2024 for the start of production by the end of 2027. It should have a monthly production capacity of 40,000 300 mm silicon wafers, one of the technologies more advanced.
Dresden, the “Silicon Saxony”
This investment shows that Germany is an attractive and competitive location, especially when it comes to key technologies such as microelectronics “, welcomed the Minister of Economy Robert Habeck in a separate press release.
The Dresden region, in the former East Germany, is one of the strongholds of microelectronics in Europe, to the point of being nicknamed for many years the “ Silicon Saxony “. In mid-June, Berlin had announced to increase to nearly 10 billion euros the subsidy to the American semiconductor giant Intel, which is building a new factory in Magdeburg (center-east). In addition, the German, Infineon, recently launched in Dresden the construction of a new semiconductor factory – a 5 billion euro project -, and the American Wolfspeed announced a major investment in the west of Germany.
On Tuesday, TSMC also announced that it would inject $4.5 billion in capital into its factory in Arizona in the United States, it announced on Tuesday.
(With AFP)
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