TSMC’s plans to relocate its 2nm manufacturing facility to Kaohsiung still unclear

Since a couple of weeks ago, some rumours have been swirling in Taiwan about the fact that TSMC is planning to relocate its under-construction 2nm semiconductor manufacturing facility. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), however, is still to comment on these rumours.

As we know, TSMC plans to build the first 2nm plant in Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park; later, the company also plans to build another facility in the island’s Taichung sector. However, the latest rumours indicate that the company plans to build the second facility in the Southwestern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung instead.

The second 2nm plant might be relocated to Kaohsiung due to water constraints in the Taichung area. Taiwan has just come out of the worst drought in its history after a lack of rain in the region reduced water reservoir levels to dangerously low levels. Due to this, TSMC was forced to reduce its water consumption, but the fab managed to come out of the situation without reducing its chip output.

Coming to other issues, TSMC has also promised that it will use renewable electricity for all of the plant’s energy needs by 2050. The fab also promised that it would meet all the requirements that large-scale energy users in the region are required to meet.

However, there is still scepticism behind the scene as to whether the plant will meet all its commitments, and officials expect more concrete commitments from the developers. Water use is one of the primary points, and the transition to recycled water by 2030 needs to be given more priority by TSMC. 

TSMC’s 2nm plant is expected to expand the company’s footprint in the Hsinchu science park by 90 hectares and create 2,500 jobs in the region. The development of the 2nm process node will mark an upgrade over the company’s next-generation 3nm process, and it’s worth waiting to see the chips developed using this new process.

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