Dresden: Former President Tsai Ing-wen has expressed confidence in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) first European fab currently under construction in Germany during a trip to the plant’s site in Dresden. It is a project that “Taiwan believes in as much as it believes in TSMC itself,” Tsai stated during the visit, after being welcomed by European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (ESMC) President Christian Koitzsch at the construction site in Silicon Saxony.

According to Focus Taiwan, during the visit, Tsai received a briefing from Koitzsch and TSMC Europe general counsel Gunnar Thomas. She also met with Taiwanese engineers to learn about the progress made in the fab’s construction and their daily lives in Germany. In a gesture of encouragement, Tsai presented Taiwan-shaped pins to the young engineers, urging them to “work hard overseas but never forget Taiwan.”

ESMC, a joint venture between TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, and NXP, held its groundbreaking ceremony in August 2024, with the plant scheduled to begin operations in 2027. The Dresden plant represents TSMC’s first major investment in Europe and is considered the largest semiconductor investment in the city’s history, as noted by Dresden Mayor Dirk Hilbert.

Hilbert emphasized that the city government’s primary focus is to ensure smooth administrative processes and to prepare the necessary infrastructure, such as power, water, and transportation, for the plant’s launch. Noting that the plant is expected to bring more than 5,000 professionals to the city, Hilbert expressed the city’s commitment to making incoming professionals feel at home.

The city is actively collaborating with TSMC and ESMC to plan housing, schools, and public transportation for incoming employees to ensure they experience the city’s hospitality and warmth from the beginning. Additionally, Dresden is constructing Germany’s largest and most modern vocational school to train over 2,000 electrical and electronic specialists to meet the growing demand for skilled workers in the expanding Silicon Saxony cluster, home to more than 500 companies and research institutes.