>Chipmaker TSMC in talks with suppliers over first European plant
>
>Company to send senior executives to Dresden early next year to discuss potential factory project in Germany
>
>TSMC is in advanced talks with key suppliers about setting up its first potential European plant in the German city of Dresden, a move that would allow the world’s largest chipmaker to capitalise on booming demand from the region’s car industry.
>
>The Taiwanese company is sending a team of senior executives to Germany early next year to discuss the level of government support for the prospective plant as well as the capacity of the local supply chain to meet its needs, according to people familiar with the matter.
>
>The trip will be the second in six months by TSMC executives and a final decision on whether to invest billions of dollars in a plant, which could begin construction as early as 2024, is expected to follow soon after, the people said.
>
>Last year TSMC was asked by customers to consider building a plant in Europe, but halted an initial review following the invasion of Ukraine. But growing demand from Europe’s carmakers for a supply of locally manufactured chips has prompted TSMC to revisit the idea, the people said.
>
>A decision to build the plant would be a boost for the EU, which is racing to cut its reliance on importing semiconductors — vital components in everything from smartphones to cars — from Asia. Brussels earlier this year approved €43bn in subsidies in a bid to attract chipmakers to Europe.
>
>TSMC’s talks with several materials and equipment suppliers are focused on whether they can also make the investments required to support the plant, people familiar with the matter said.
>
>[…]
>
>If TSMC presses ahead with a Dresden plant, it would focus on 22-nanometre and 28-nanometre chip technologies, similar to those it plans to make in a factory it is developing with Sony in Japan. Nanometres refer to the size of each transistor on a chip — the smaller the nanometre, the more powerful and advanced the semiconductor.
>
>TSMC will have to weigh up whether building a plant in Dresden will put too much of a strain on its workforce. The chipmaker is already sending several hundred engineers to support new plants it is building in the US and has said it would need to deploy 500 to 600 more to help set up the factory in Japan.
TSMC stated that while there were no specific plans, it did not completely rule out any possibilities for Japan.
One of the largest foreign investments in American history, TSMC announced it will more than treble its projected investment at its new Arizona facility to $40 billion.
4 comments
>Chipmaker TSMC in talks with suppliers over first European plant
>
>Company to send senior executives to Dresden early next year to discuss potential factory project in Germany
>
>TSMC is in advanced talks with key suppliers about setting up its first potential European plant in the German city of Dresden, a move that would allow the world’s largest chipmaker to capitalise on booming demand from the region’s car industry.
>
>The Taiwanese company is sending a team of senior executives to Germany early next year to discuss the level of government support for the prospective plant as well as the capacity of the local supply chain to meet its needs, according to people familiar with the matter.
>
>The trip will be the second in six months by TSMC executives and a final decision on whether to invest billions of dollars in a plant, which could begin construction as early as 2024, is expected to follow soon after, the people said.
>
>Last year TSMC was asked by customers to consider building a plant in Europe, but halted an initial review following the invasion of Ukraine. But growing demand from Europe’s carmakers for a supply of locally manufactured chips has prompted TSMC to revisit the idea, the people said.
>
>A decision to build the plant would be a boost for the EU, which is racing to cut its reliance on importing semiconductors — vital components in everything from smartphones to cars — from Asia. Brussels earlier this year approved €43bn in subsidies in a bid to attract chipmakers to Europe.
>
>TSMC’s talks with several materials and equipment suppliers are focused on whether they can also make the investments required to support the plant, people familiar with the matter said.
>
>[…]
>
>If TSMC presses ahead with a Dresden plant, it would focus on 22-nanometre and 28-nanometre chip technologies, similar to those it plans to make in a factory it is developing with Sony in Japan. Nanometres refer to the size of each transistor on a chip — the smaller the nanometre, the more powerful and advanced the semiconductor.
>
>TSMC will have to weigh up whether building a plant in Dresden will put too much of a strain on its workforce. The chipmaker is already sending several hundred engineers to support new plants it is building in the US and has said it would need to deploy 500 to 600 more to help set up the factory in Japan.
Link to bypass the firewall:
[https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcontent%2Fd21e39ff-0ded-4efc-b723-b85edb416532](https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcontent%2Fd21e39ff-0ded-4efc-b723-b85edb416532)
Drösdöön!
This is excellent news!
TSMC stated that while there were no specific plans, it did not completely rule out any possibilities for Japan.
One of the largest foreign investments in American history, TSMC announced it will more than treble its projected investment at its new Arizona facility to $40 billion.