Reuters: Negotiations German TSMC chip factory are at an advanced stage
Negotiations for the construction of a German TSMC chip factory are at an advanced stage. This is reported by Reuters news agency. Talks between TSMC and Germany are now focusing on government grants to support the investment.
TSMC is currently in talks with the German state of Saxony, insiders report to Reuters. A source calls the talks “serious and advanced.” State delegations would have traveled to Taiwan for talks with the Taiwanese chipmaker. The two sides would now discuss government support for the construction of the plant. TSMC wants a subsidy to finance the construction, partly because of the higher construction costs in that country.
The subsidy would be distributed as part of the European Chips Act. This upcoming law will release up to 45 billion euros in subsidies for the chip sector, in order to become less dependent on production capacity from other countries. A large part of that amount is financed by individual member states, including Germany, which is also already negotiating for the construction of an Intel chip factory.
The Taiwanese chipmaker has been talking about the possible arrival of a chip factory in Germany for some time. TSMC said in July 2021 that the company is considering its construction, though it has given few concrete updates since then. In December, the company said TSMC had no concrete plans to build a German chip factory yet, but continued to consider all options. Recently, reports have been circulating about progressing talks. A team from TSMC would have traveled to Germany in October to view possible locations. The factory is according to previous reports possibly built in Dresden. That is the capital of Saxony, where companies such as GlobalFoundries and Bosch already have chip factories.
TSMC has been expanding beyond its home country for some time now. The company is currently building a 4nm chip factory in the US state of Arizona. A 3nm chip factory should follow later on the same campus. If the German TSMC factory comes along, it will probably produce less advanced chips. This would mainly concern chips used by the automotive sector, a source reports to Reuters.