Bosch Inaugurates $1.2B Factory to Counter Global Semiconductor Chip Shortage

Robert Bosch GmbH inaugurated a 1 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) factory in Dresden, Germany, to counter the semiconductor chip supply constraints and reduce dependence on Asian or U.S. imports, Bloomberg reports.
The plant received 200 million euros ($243 million) in state aid under an E.U. investment scheme, Reuters reports. It will start manufacturing power tool chips in July and automotive chips in September.
The E.U. pledged to produce at least 20% of the global supply on a value basis by the end of the decade.
Bosch estimates the global semiconductor demand to grow 11% in 2021 to a market volume of over 400 billion euros.
The factory can produce 300-millimeter silicon substrate wafers with structural widths of up to 65-nm.
Bosch already manufactures 150 and 200-mm wafers at a Reutlingen factory outside Stuttgart. It will invest around 50 million euros in expanding the site’s clean-room facilities for 200-mm wafers in coming months.