Chip Giants Investing in Germany

TSMC

Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC plans to construct a massive new production facility in the eastern German city of Dresden. The volume of its Dresden expansion will be at least EUR 10 billion. The new plant for 300-millimeter semiconductors will be located in the heart of the electronics hub known as “Silicon Saxony.”

The planned factory will have a monthly capacity of 40,000 wafers. Construction is scheduled to start in the second half of 2024, with the facility becoming operational by the end of 2027. Bosch, Infineon and NXP are also participating in the project, with a ten percent share each respectively. 

Wolfspeed

US semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed has announced plans to build the world’s largest silicon carbide semiconductor factory in Ensdorf, Saarland. The North American chip company will build a USD 3 billion chip production and R&D facility on the former site of a coal-fired power plant. Wolfspeed plans to invest up to three billion euros in a state-of-the-art chip factory at the Ensdorf site, with project partner automotive supplier ZF investing USD 185 million in the landmark deal.

The planned 200mm semiconductor fab will be the largest and most modern silicon carbide semiconductor factory of its kind in the world. Silicon carbide semiconductors, which can be used to increase electric vehicle range, will be manufactured at the Ensdorf facility. The fully operational factory will house a workforce of more than 600 people, generating further jobs in the immediate environs to create around 1,000 new jobs in total.

Intel

US-based semiconductor manufacturer Intel officially announced Magdeburg as the location for its new European semiconductor production facilities in March 2022 and signed a revised letter of intent in June 2023 with the German government to increases its initial EUR 17 billion investment to more than EUR 30 billion. 

The project is the largest-ever foreign direct business investment in the country and in Europe as a whole. Intel could put around EUR 80 billion into its European operations if it builds all of the construction facilities or “fabs” that are planned.

Ask Intel and others - Germany is Europe’s new microchip mecca

Bosch

Bosch has invested EUR 1 billion in a production facility in Dresden. The plant is Europe’s first fully digitalized semiconductor production facility. The project, first announced in 2018, will see auto chips and sensors manufactured at the Saxony site. Bosch received EUR 140 funding for the project as part of the “Important Project of Common European Interest: Microelectronics” initiative.

• Investment into new fab: ~ 1 billion EUR, 700 new jobs, biggest investment in Bosch history
• 1st Bosch chip factory equipped with 5G
• Applications: autonomous transport systems via local cloud, remote access to plants, M2M communication

Globalfoundries

US chip manufacturer Globalfoundries has announced plans to more than double capacity at its Dresden site – increasing production from 400,000 wafers to more than one million wafers annually. This represents an investment of more than EUR 1 billion.

• Planned investments in coming years: EUR 1.1–2.4 billion 
• Local demand for power electronics in automotive, mobile chips due to 5G, industrial use chips and sensors

Infineon

Infineon plans to invest up to EUR 2.4 billion at its Dresden site over the coming years to meet demand for power electronics in auto, mobile chips for 5G, and industry chips and sensors. The company has submitted proposals as part of the microelectronics IPCE, with the scale of the fourth factory module investment subject to government subsidy commitments.

• Investment of > EUR 1 billion into existing fab announced Feb 2021
• Local production: audio converters for cell phones, driver chips for OLED screens, electronics for voice recognition systems

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