Taipei: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) received government approval on Tuesday to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, according to a news release. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has given the green light for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said in the release.

According to Focus Taiwan, the MOEA’s Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, which are significantly less advanced than the 3nm process. At a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo this February, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei had stated that the shift in plan for the second fab was a response to soaring global demand for artificial intelligence.

TSMC’s first Kumamoto fab, operated by Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM), entered mass production in late 2024, primarily focusing on 12nm-28nm logic chips for the automotive and industrial sectors.