Bosch is investing heavily in its semiconductor division. With an investment of 3 billion euros until 2026, the company plans to increase its production capacity, enabling it to supply more chips to the automotive industry.
Reuters reports that the company is investing 170 million euros in two new R&D centres in Germany: in Reutlingen and Dresden. A further 250 million euros has been earmarked for the expansion of its wafer fab in Dresden. Bosch is also continuing its research into the production of gallium nitride-based chips, which can significantly reduce energy loss compared with silicon-based chips.
40 to 200 nanometre chips
Bosch is focusing its wafer fabs on 40 to 200 nanometre chips for use in cars. Bosch wants to focus specifically on producing chips needed by European industry.
The Register reports that the funding is partly possible thanks to funds from the European Union and the German federal government, which are investing as part of the European Chips Act. This European Act should eventually lead to a European ecosystem of chips, with chip production on European soil. As part of the European Chips Act, the European Commission announced early this year that it would invest billions of euros in chip production on European soil. This investment is to consist of both public and private funds. The plan is mainly aimed at reducing dependence on foreign chip producers.
Chip shortage
The winding down of this dependence comes in response to the extensive chip shortage that has emerged worldwide. Several European sectors, for instance, are affected by this shortage. A well-known example is the automotive sector. However, consider also the installation industry, which earlier warned of a shortage of central heating boilers. The delivery time of various electronic products has also increased.
Bosch is one of the players responding to this with a sizeable investment. Earlier, other parties also announced investments. In March, for instance, US-based Intel announced it was investing 17 billion euros in two chip factories in Magdeburg, Germany. The company speaks of a "mega-location" for chip production.
Netherlands dropped out as a business location
Intel also looked at the Netherlands location for these plants, but ultimately chose Germany. Construction of the production facilities should start in the first half of 2023. Intel expects production at the factories to start in 2027. The company has already announced that the site could eventually be expanded to six to eight factories.
The company is also building an R&D site in France in Plateau de Saclay, just south of Paris. France is to become Intel's European headquarters for developing and designing chips aimed at high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. Research centres in Poland and Spain are also planned. These plans involve an investment of 33 billion euros. Over the next decade, Intel plans to invest as much as 80 billion euros in the European semiconductor value chain.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: brookhaven via Pixabay
