TAIPEI: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has received final approval to build its most advanced chip plant yet, a day after US rival Intel said it planned to seize chip industry leadership.
TSMC plans to build a 2-nanometer chip facility in Hsinchu, one of Taiwan’s most important chipmaking centres.
The Environmental Review Committee, a cross government and academic environmental regulatory body, approved the plan today.
This clears the way for TSMC to start construction of the facility in early 2022, and begin installing production equipment by 2023, sources familiar with the plan told Nikkei Asia.
“Semiconductor is one of the most crucial industries to Taiwan’s economic growth,” economics vice-minister Lin Chuan-neng said at the environmental review committee meeting.
“The government will help TSMC to achieve its environmental targets while continuing to build the advanced technologies.”
The approval comes after top US chipmaker Intel — a TSMC client and competitor — said yesterday that it aims to produce the world’s most advanced chips by 2024 and recover the global chip crown from Asian rivals like TSMC and Samsung Electronics the following year.
Taiwan’s importance as a source of advanced semiconductors was highlighted earlier this year when carmaking economies including Germany, Japan and the US all pressured Taiwan to increase production of automotive chips amid a global shortage.
The Taiwanese government views its chip production expertise as a strategic advantage to keeping the island that China views as a part of its territory safe from any geopolitical conflicts.
TSMC’s move to diversify some production away from Taiwan will weaken the strategic importance of the island in the long-term, which makes it more crucial for Taiwan to keep the company’s most cutting-edge production technology onshore, government officials told Nikkei Asia.
“It is OK for TSMC to expand its overseas footprint, but from a geopolitical perspective it is very important for Taiwan to have TSMC building its most advanced technology (domestically),” a government source familiar with the Tsai Ing-wen administration’s thinking told Nikkei Asia.
“We can’t hinder TSMC’s plans to stay ahead of the competition.”
The planned 2-nanometer chip plant will be located in Hsinchu’s Baoshan township and cover nearly 50 acres.
It is expected to use 98,000 tons of water a day — roughly 50% of TSMC’s total daily water consumption in 2020.
The chipmaker has promised to use 10% recycled water by 2025 and reach 100% reused water by 2030 at the new Baoshan facility.
TSMC missed its internal sustainability goals on water usage and waste generation last year as the world’s biggest semiconductor company ramped up output of the industry’s most advanced chips.
TSMC is constructing a 5-nanometer chip facility in Arizona, expanding its 28-nanometer capacity in Nanjing, China, and is eyeing new facilities in Japan and Germany.
The chipmaker told Nikkei Asia it was glad that the project has gained regulatory approval, and that it will maintain its commitment to green manufacturing.