Infineon CEO: Willing to work with TSMC to build a factory in Europe

According to a Central News Agency report, the CEO of German semiconductor giant Infineon reiterated in an interview with local media that he is open to cooperating with TSMC to build a factory in Europe, but emphasized that the prerequisite is government support. He also estimated that the problem of tight chip supply in some areas will continue until 2023.

Infineon CEO Reinhard Ploss said in an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on the 14th that Europe needs to reflect on its over-reliance on chip imports and lack of autonomy. It is a good thing to catch up in the semiconductor industry, but the gap with its competitors may require "pole vaulting" to catch up.

According to reports, when asked whether Infineon would be willing to participate if TSMC set up a factory in Europe, Pross said: "If we can contribute, we are basically open to it." But he emphasized that the premise of Infineon's investment is that the government is willing to support it, and that corporate cooperation should share common values ​​so that they can trust each other.

Reuters also reported earlier this month that Pross supports TSMC's idea of ​​building a factory in Germany, and he seems to prefer TSMC over Intel.

At the time, he told reporters: "It would be an interesting idea for TSMC to set up a factory in Germany." When asked about Intel seeking EU support for the company to build a factory in Europe, Pross said that Intel's technology does not work closely with Infineon, but TSMC can, "TSMC's production technology is closer to ours."

TSMC Chairman Liu Deyin recently mentioned at a shareholders meeting that setting up a factory in Germany is in the early evaluation stage.

The industry has even helped TSMC evaluate three possible ways to set up its presence in Germany. In addition to building its own factory, it is also possible to negotiate with German officials and major customers to jointly invest, similar to the initial investment model for setting up a factory in Singapore, or to take the form of technology shares to set up a joint venture in Germany and then authorize long-term European partners. Due to the various negotiation processes involved, it is expected to take some time before it comes to light.

In response to various speculations, TSMC has repeatedly reiterated that its German layout is still in a very early evaluation stage.

As for the global chip shortage, Pross said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the current tight supply is mainly due to the shortage of foundry chips since last year, which has rarely happened before. He estimated that the tight supply problem in some areas will continue until 2023.