Punts over a trillion yuan at it
The Taiwanese silicon giant TSMC has begun work early on its next-generation 1.4nm process fab, and it's coughing up more than a trillion yuan to do it.
Construction proper is slated to begin in October, but things are already humming behind the scenes.
According to the China Science and Technology Administration, phase two of the water expansion project at the Zhongke Science Park should be done by the end of September. That’s the bit that makes sure no one runs out of water, especially not TSMC’s shiny new fabs.
Word on the street is the initial investment will fall somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5 trillion yuan (152 billion to 190 billion euro).
Contractors have already had the nod. Cement mixers, factory engineering outfits and construction crews are all in the loop. TSMC is about to tender the project and dish out the contracts, with build crews expected to break ground very soon.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Environment just waved through the environmental impact differences for the Hsinchu Baoshan Phase Two zone. This is tied to the company’s 2nm site, but things didn’t go exactly as planned as recycled water supplies came up short.
TSMC and the park administrators have promised to patch things by buying desalinated water instead of poaching from the locals’ taps. They’ve committed to rolling water reviews every two years and still aim for 100 per cent recycled usage.
Meanwhile, Intel has been whispering about scrapping its A14 process entirely. This process was supposed to be Intel’s answer to 1.4nm. Samsung, not wanting to be left out of the bad news party, has shoved back its own 1.4nm mass production to 2029 and is still trying to sort its 2nm line. This leaves TSMC with a juicy opportunity to corner the bleeding edge.
TSMC has already marked its Taichung F25 fab, built on the old Xingnong Stadium site, as the launch site for 1.4nm. It plans four factories. The first should finish risk trials by the end of 2027, with mass production kicking off in late 2028. The expected turnover should be 500 billion yuan (63 billion euro).
Industry sources reckon that Zhongke’s planned second 1.4nm facility will come online in 2028. Later plants might even jump straight to A10, a 1nm process if you're keeping score.
TSMC has apparently hit a milestone already. It’s telling suppliers to prep the equipment for 1.4nm and plans to install a trial line at Hsinchu’s Baoshan No. 2 fab this year. The roadmap sees Baoshan turning into a kind of miniaturisation theme park. The second fab will focus on 1.4nm, the third will try its luck with 1nm, and the fourth is set for 0.7nm R&D.
The Nanke Admin Bureau is meanwhile prepping Tainan’s Sharon Park, aiming to hand over land to manufacturers by Q3 2027. TSMC has already scoped it out for 1nm production. With 500 hectares to play with, the site could eventually host up to 10 wafer fabs.
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