Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is to invest a total of NT$1.5 trillion (US$45.2 billion) to expand its advanced 2-nanometer chip capacity in Kaohsiung, bolstering its commitment to augment investment and technology development at home.
The world’s biggest contract chipmaker unveiled the massive domestic investment after boosting its investment in the US by US$100 billion at the beginning of last month, fanning fears that Taiwan risks losing its competitive edge as TSMC plans to produce more advanced chips, including 2-nanometers, and set up a research and development center in the US for the first time.
TSMC yesterday held a capacity expansion ceremony at the construction site of its 2-nanometer fab, dubbed Fab 22, in Kaohsiung. The fab is to house five chip manufacturing facilities, with the first one set to enter volume production in the second half of this year, the company said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
“Today’s 2-nanometer capacity expansion ceremony holds significant importance for global semiconductor technology development, marking the successful progress of TSMC’s world-leading 2-nanometer process.
It showcases TSMC’s commitment to meeting strong market demand, continuously expanding capacity to support customers,” TSMC co-chief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛) said at the ceremony.
“In Kaohsiung, we will have Phase 3, Phase 4 and Phase 5 wafer fabrication plants. All of them will germinate here,” Chyn said.
The chipmaker said it is currently installing equipment at the first phase of Fab 22 and has completed structural engineering works at Phase 2.
Government officials, including Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) attended the ceremony.
With NT$1.5 trillion in investment, Fab 22 would create more than 7,000 direct high-tech positions and 20,000 construction jobs, it said.
Aside from its revenue, TSMC generates about NT$3 trillion in production value a year and 500,000 jobs through its supply chain partners and related services, it said.
TSMC has also been holding intensive discussions with the authorities to acquire more land to build new chipmaking facilities, Chyn said.
The company said its 2-nanometer process technology is expected to be widely applied in customers’ next-generation leading technology products, including supercomputers, mobile devices and cloud-based data centers.
TSMC estimated that 2-nanometer technology would create end products with a market value of US$2 trillion within five years of volume production.
TSMC also has a 2-nanometer chip fab in Hsinchu, which is progressing as planned.
TSMC said almost all technology innovators in the world are closely collaborating with it to adopt 2-nanometer technology, given its 10 to 15 percent speed improvement and 25 to 30 percent lower power consumption compared with 3-nanometer technology.
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