Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Friday there is no concrete plan at the moment to expand into Germany, in response to media reports that it is in talks to build its first European chip plant in the German city of Dresden.
TSMC said, however, that it was not ruling out any possibility regarding the issue, but did not elaborate.
Both Nikkei Asia and the Financial Times reported earlier Friday that TSMC is sending a team of senior executives to Germany early next year to gauge the degree of government support for the factory and the ability of the local supply chain to meet its needs, citing 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,” Nikkei Asia wrote.
Last year, TSMC was asked by customers to consider building a plant in Europe, but it halted an initial review following the invasion of Ukraine, according to Nikkei Asia.
TSMC is now revisiting the idea because of growing calls from Europe’s carmakers for a locally manufactured supply of chips, Nikkei Asia wrote.
Nikkei Asia warned, however, that any move into Germany could strain TSMC’s workforce because it is sending several hundred engineers to support its investment in Arizona and will need to deploy 500 to 600 more to help set up its new factory in Japan.
TSMC held a tool-in ceremony earlier this month for its new semiconductor fab in Arizona, which is scheduled to begin production in 2024, and said it would build another using an even more advanced technology in the state.
The company announced that it would use 4-nanometer technology in the new fab, rather than 5nm technology as had been planned, and also said it would increase its planned US$12 billion investment in Arizona to US$40 billion to include a 3nm fab expected to open in 2026.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel