
In what could be a big win for the EUâs chip industry, Taiwanâs National Science and Technology Council Minister, Wu Cheng-wen, says TSMC is planning to further expand operations in the bloc.
TSMC broke ground in August on a âŹ10bn chip plant in Dresden, Germany â its first in Europe. The German government will provide half of the funding with âŹ5bn in state aid, under the EUâs Chips Act.
The fab will produce semiconductors for automotive and industrial applications. Itâs a joint project between the Taiwanese tech giant, the Netherlandsâ NXP, and Germanyâs Bosch and Infineon.
âThey [TSMC] have started construction of the first fab in Dresden, they are already planning the next few fabs in the future for different market sectors as well,â Cheng-wen told Bloomberg TV in a Monday interview.
Wu said that whether the company will increase its plants in Germany, or expand to other European countries, will depend on its market strategy.
âAnd whenever they do [expand], our government will help them establish joint research collaboration for them to continue developing new technologies.â
In a statement to Bloomberg, TSMC said that it currently has no new investment plans and is focused on its existing global expansion projects.
Europeâs need for foreign investment in the chip sector
The EU currently makes about 10% of the worldâs semiconductors. Itâs particularly strong in the production of chips for the automotive and industrial sectors, boasting well-established players such as NXP, Infineon, and STMicroelectronics.
TSMCâs upcoming plant is expected to further strengthen the EUâs position in these industries. The fab is slated to reach an annual output of 480,000 silicon wafers once it is fully operational in 2029.
However, the bloc is lagging behind in the production of advanced chips that power technologies such as AI and High Performance Computing (HPC).
Intelâs âŹ30bn mega fab in Germany, which was destined to begin operations by 2028, would have helped fill this gap.
TSMCâs potential further expansion in Europe presents a ray of hope. âThe most important market [for expansion] would be the AI market,â said Wu.
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