Bosch invests further billions in its chip production. A total of 3 billion euros should flow into the semiconductor business by 2026, said CEO Stefan Hartung on Wednesday at an event in Dresden. Part of the amount comes from the EU funding program IPCEI, which is used to fund “important projects of common European interest”. According to a spokesman, it is not yet clear how much exactly Bosch will receive from the pot. Bosch will probably raise more than half of the three billion euros itself. “The plant would not be here if it hadn’t been funded,” said Hartung.
The Stuttgart foundation group wants to invest most of the money in its two semiconductor sites in Dresden and Reutlingen. Both are to get new development centers. 55 million euros will flow into the plant in Reutlingen, 115 million into that in Dresden. According to the industry association Silicon Saxony, the European funding is having an effect. The approximately 100 jobs in the development center make the “location attractive for top talent from all over the world”.
Chips for household appliances or cars
The EU wants to use funding programs, including IPCEI and the EU Chips Act, to catch up in the semiconductor industry and double its share of global production to a fifth by 2030. Sales in Europe are around 40 billion euros, and around 70,000 people work in the industry in Saxony. Dresden is thus Europe’s most important chip location. A year ago, Bosch put a new semiconductor factory into operation in the city, which, at a cost of one billion euros, was the group’s largest single investment to date. In the coming year, a further 250 million euros are to flow into the plant. After the expansion, 700 people will work in the plant, twice as many as currently.
The group had recently repeatedly announced new semiconductor investments. Initially, there was talk of 400 million euros for 2022, a large part of which should flow to Saxony and 150 million euros to Reutlingen, which later became 250 million. By 2025 it should be 400 million euros.
The demand for semiconductors is increasing rapidly. Many industries are currently unable to meet the demand. The additional Bosch chips are to be installed in household appliances, for example, but also in cars and trucks. Electromobility, autonomous driving and entertainment systems require more chips. In 2021, Bosch spent 6.1 billion euros on research and development. With more than 400,000 employees, the group is considered the largest automotive supplier in the world. In the semiconductor industry, however, others are ahead.
