It is becoming more concrete again when planning a possible semiconductor plant of the world market leader TSMC in Germany. A joint project with Bosch, Infineon and NXP in Dresden could lure the Taiwanese company to Europe for the first time, reports the Bloomberg news agency, citing internal sources.
It was already clear in the past that TSMC would come to Germany primarily for so-called automotive chips, for example for power control. Accordingly, the focus should be on manufacturing processes with a structure width of 28 nanometers – earlier there was also talk of 22 nm.
Car manufacturers have little need for modern manufacturing processes up to 5 nm. TSMC would continue to produce complex processors for infotainment systems in Taiwan if required. The chip contract manufacturer is already working with Bosch, Infineon and NXP.
Up to 10 billion euros
According to Bloomberg, the semiconductor factory in Dresden will cost 7 billion to 10 billion euros – including state subsidies. TSMC reportedly plans to make a decision on European expansion in August.
The location is obvious: the two German companies Bosch and Infineon (alongside Globalfoundries) already operate semiconductor factories – so-called fabs – in Dresden, but designed for much coarser structures up to 65 nm. Infineon recently started construction of a new fab next to its existing facility.
The infrastructure for chip production is therefore already in place, for example with local silicon suppliers. Meanwhile, the Dutch company NXP Semiconductor maintains a research center in Dresden.
A newly founded company as a joint venture would be likely, should there be a cooperation. TSMC is taking a similar approach in Japan, where it founded the Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM) joint venture with Sony, Toyota and Denso.
(mma)
