TSMC confirms Kikuyo as site for 2nd Japanese fab

Taipei, April 7 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) confirmed on Saturday that it has once again chosen Kikuyo in Kumamoto Prefecture to host its second fab in Japan.

According to Japanese media, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) made the announcement during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to TSMC's first Japanese fab in Kikuyo earlier in the day.

The chipmaker later confirmed the news to CNA, adding that in addition to Kishida, Wei met with local business representatives, including those from the fab's operator, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), to discuss its progress.

JASM -- a joint-venture among TSMC, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp. and DENSO Corp. -- announced in February that it would start building a second fab at the end of 2024, but has not disclosed its location.

According to TSMC, Wei also expressed optimism at Saturday's meeting about future Taiwan-Japan cooperation in the semiconductor industry.

In addition, Wei mentioned that approximately 60 percent of the indirect materials for manufacturing at the first Kumamoto fab are anticipated to be sourced from the local supply chain by the end of 2030, TSMC said.

Construction of the first fab started in April 2022, backed by robust support from the Japanese government and TSMC's partners in Japan.

The plant was inaugurated on Feb. 24 this year, with mass production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter, making it the chipmaker's overseas production site with the fastest development progress, according to TSMC.

After completion of the two fabs, JASM is expected to roll out more than 100,000 12-inch wafers a month under the maximum capacity, using the mature 40 nanometer, 28nm, 22nm, 16nm, 12nm processes as well as the advanced 7nm and 6nm technologies, it said.

According to TSMC, JASM's chips will be used for production of automotive, industrial, consumer and high performance computing (HPC)-related applications.