NXP takes 10 percent stake in German TSMC fab

NXP, Robert Bosch and Infineon will each own a 10 percent stake in a yet-to-be-established European subsidiary of TSMC, the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC). The Taiwanese foundry’s board of directors today approved a 3.5 billion euro investment in the company, which will operate a 300mm fab in Dresden to manufacture TSMC’s 28/22nm planar and 16/12nm FinFET CMOS. The total cost of the chip plant is reported to be 10 billion euros. The German government has agreed to pitch in 5 billion euros in support of the project, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt.

“This investment in Dresden demonstrates TSMC’s commitment to serving our customers’ strategic capacity and technology needs, and we are excited at this opportunity to deepen our long-standing partnership with Bosch, Infineon, and NXP,” said TSMC CEO CC Wei. “The construction of this new and significant semiconductor foundry will add much needed innovation and capacity for the range of silicon required to supply the sharply increasing digitalization and electrification of the automotive and industrial sectors,” added NXP CEO Kurt Sievers.

“Apart from continuously expanding our own manufacturing facilities, we further secure our supply chains as an automotive supplier through close cooperation with our partners. With TSMC, we are pleased to gain a global innovation leader to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in the direct vicinity of our semiconductor plant in Dresden,” said Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management. “Infineon will use the new capacity to serve the growing demand particularly of its European customers, especially in automotive and IoT. The advanced capabilities will provide a basis for developing innovative technologies, products and solutions to address the global challenges of decarbonization and digitalisation,” said CEO Jochen Hanebeck of Infineon.