Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that Taiwan’s TSMC recently held a groundbreaking ceremony in Germany to commence construction of its first ever wafer fab on the European continent. German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. EU Executive Committee Chairman Ursula von der Leyen also attended, saying that the development represented a true win-win situation.
Earlier, the EU approved Germany’s subsidy plan for TSMC’s factory construction. Last year, TSMC announced that it would set up a joint venture with Bosch, Infineon and NXP in Dresden, Germany to jointly invest in the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC), with a total investment of approximately 10 billion euros. Scholz said semiconductors were key to Germany’s industrial survival and climate goals, and stressed the importance of increasing production in Germany to make Europe less dependent on other regions in global supply chains.
Germany provided a five-billion-euro subsidy plan to TSMC’s wafer fab joint venture. This is the largest amount of state subsidy currently granted under the European Chips Act, and it is also Germany’s first subsidy program. TSMC funded 70 percent of the ESMC private investment. Nearly 2,000 ESMC employees will be recruited locally.
In order to assist factory construction, hundreds of TSMC engineers will be dispatched to Dresden in the next three to five years. TSMC has launched talent training projects with universities and local governments in Germany. German students will be invited to Taiwan for training at universities and TSMC training facilities.
Source: CNA, August 20, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202408200361.aspx