TSMC, Bosch, NXP, Infineon Join Hands to Build Wafer Fab in Germany via JV

Bosch announced it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Taiwan's TSMC Ltd., NXP Semiconductors, and Infineon Technologies Inc. The partnership's main goal is to build a new chip processing facility in Dresden, Germany, by the second half of 2024 to grow their respective businesses.

Bosch, TSMC, NXP, and Infineon will form a new company and establish their wafer fab in the country. As per Reuters, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will hold most of the stake in the JV firm, taking 70% of the share. At the same time, Bosch, Infineon, and NXP will each own a 10% equity stake.

The companies combined investments in the joint venture, including the construction of the chip plant, are expected to top €10 billion or about $10.97 billion. They will gather the needed cash through debt borrowing, equity injection, and support from the governments of Germany and the European Union. It was agreed that TSMC would operate the new wafer fab.

"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," TSMC's chief executive officer, Dr. CC Wei, said in a press release. "Europe is a highly promising place for semiconductor innovation, particularly in the automotive and industrial fields, and we look forward to bringing those innovations to life on our advanced silicon technology with the talent in Europe."

Bosch's chair of the board of management, Dr. Stefan Hartung, added, "Apart from continuously expanding our own manufacturing facilities, we further secure our supply chains as an automotive supplier through close cooperation with our partners and 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."

Photo by: NXP Press Release