Production, supply and routing problems seem to be prompting some manufacturers to rethink their strategy (a little).
Only a few days ago, we mentioned the decision taken by Intel to choose Germany for its future new location in Europe. The American group had mentioned several times its desire to build new structures on the Old Continent and, no doubt, to benefit from important subsidies from a European Union that is desperately trying to reduce at least partially its dependence on the main semiconductor producing countries in Asia. Last October, at the IAA Mobility Auto Show in Munich, Pat Gelsinger himself confirmed the American's plans: Intel's CEO explained that he was going to build " the most advanced chip factory in the world " with a total investment project of 93 billion dollars over ten years.
Not so long ago, a spokesman for the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said that the European Union was not a sufficiently attractive market for the company to consider setting up in Europe. A position that seems to have fizzled out, unless it is Intel's plans that have pushed TSMC's managers to reconsider their position. In any case, the company, which has become one of the most courted companies in the world, is currently in discussions with a major European country to build a new foundry... and the country in question would be none other than Germany, once again. As reported by the Taipei Times, the information does not seem to be official yet, but executives of the Taiwanese company are said to have started discussions with German officials.
The Taipei Times points out that these are only talks at the moment, but that theEuropean Chips Act would have a certain attraction for TSMC. The Taiwanese company has announced several times that it plans to invest heavily in order to solve the shortage problems encountered in recent months. TSMC has mentioned a huge $100 billion plan over three years to build new infrastructure in the US and Japan, but Europe did not seem to be part of the company's initial plans. However, Germany would have enough assets to convince TSMC thanks to a strong local demand, a highly qualified workforce and a developed infrastructure. Could European subsidies be the trigger?
