ESMC chip factory on schedule - Kretschmer praises Taiwan

The semiconductor company TSMC is making good progress with the construction of its chip factory with partners in Dresden. Just over a year after the ground-breaking ceremony, the base plate of the factory is almost complete and the construction of an office building and a supply building is in full swing. This means that we have now reached the "most beautiful phase of construction", said ESMC President Christian Koitzsch. The factory should have a roof and be weatherproof by 2026, and the production facilities will be installed from mid-2027. This is on schedule.

Investment of around ten billion euros

The investment of around ten billion euros is a joint venture between the Taiwanese industry giant TSMC, Bosch, Infineon and NXP Semiconductor and operates under the abbreviation ESMC. TSMC is to hold 70 percent of the company, the other partners ten percent each. The focus is on chips for the automotive industry. 2,000 jobs are planned in the factory. The Federal Ministry of Economics is funding the project with five billion euros.

ESMC is a construction site of superlatives

The construction site has huge dimensions. Up to 30 cranes are turning here at the same time and around 1,200 construction workers and technicians are on site. Construction is going on almost around the clock. The factory, measuring 200 by 200 meters, goes ten meters deep into the ground and is to include clean rooms with an area of 45,000 square meters on two upper floors. The basement floors will serve as a supply wing with large tanks for water treatment and the chemical and gas supply, for example. A total of 155,000 cubic meters of concrete will be used. Around 600,000 cubic meters of soil were excavated.

Saxony's head of government impressed by Taiwan

On Thursday, Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) visited the construction site. During a recent visit to Taiwan, he had seen a TSMC factory in completion. Kretschmer admitted that he was most impressed by the people in Taiwan and praised their commitment, precision and desire to constantly improve things. It would be good if Europe could implement some of this Taiwanese philosophy.

Kretschmer was impressed by the pace of construction on the site in the north of Dresden. "This trip to Asia opened my eyes so much, because there is a completely different power there, a completely different will to succeed. We have to wake up in Germany," he said. "If we don't act now, our children will hold it against us very, very badly and our grandchildren won't even know what it used to be like."

Project also attracts a lot of attention in Taiwan

According to ESMC President Koitzsch, the construction of the Dresden factory is also attracting a lot of attention in Taiwan. There is a great deal of interest. "Europe is very strong in the automotive industry. With Bosch, Infineon and NXP, TSMC also has local partners who understand this market very well. And TSMC naturally has an extremely strong focus on artificial intelligence at the moment." Other domains such as the automotive industry and electronics also need chips, and TSMC is following the market.

According to Koitzsch, the core team at ESMC currently comprises 60 people. "That means we still have to convince 1,940 of ESMC. I'm not very worried about that because this is a future-oriented industry. We want to be a very good employer (...) We want to have the right people. We want to have a team that works together. That's the next big challenge."