A Gradiant is building a water treatment facility for one of Germany’s upcoming chip fabs, according to a report from The Register. Gradiant did not disclose who would be manufacturing the factory in question, only saying that it is a “major semiconductor manufacturer” – with TSMC or Intel being the most likely candidates. The water treatment plant will also receive funding from the European Chips Act, which is partially funded by Germany.
The water treatment facility will be built by Gradiant’s subsidiary, the German water treatment company H+E Group, which Gradiant acquired last year (giving the company a presence in Germany). H+E has not had any high-profile deals with TSMC or Intel, but TSMC is a known customer of Gradiant, and the factory may belong to TSMC.
TSMC’s new factory in Germany is located in Dresden, Saxony, and is a joint collaboration between the Taiwanese company and European companies Bosch, Infineon, and NXP. The factory is set to produce chips on TSMC’s 12nm, 16nm, 22nm, and 28nm nodes, which are very mature at this point – far from being cutting edge, but very cost-effective and efficient to produce chips.
That said, it is also possible that Gradiant’s facilities are for Intel’s factory in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, which is just over 160 kilometers northwest of TSMC’s factory. In stark contrast to TSMC’s factory, Intel’s factory will produce chips on a 1.5nm process – likely referring to the company’s rumored 16A and 14A nodes. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the factory will be the most advanced in the world when it is finally completed (by the end of this decade).
Another clue to the factory’s owner’s identity: it will produce chips for “renewable energy, data center, and electric vehicle markets.” Data center chip production is particularly noteworthy, as Intel’s cutting-edge nodes will certainly be used for data center-class CPUs and GPUs, while TSMC’s factory chips are expected to be used in cars. However, this is still not enough to narrow down the mystery builder.
With this project, Gradiant will also be one of the first companies to receive subsidies from the European Chips Act. This semiconductor subsidy funding was threatened by a German budget crisis, but the three-party coalition responsible for the German government resolved the issue.