Bosch buys US chip manufacturer TSI Semiconductors to expand EV chip output

Germany’s Bosch Group has agreed to purchase key belongings of California chip producer TSI Semiconductors and make investments $1.5 billion to increase US manufacturing of silicon carbide chips for electrical automobiles.

Bosch and TSI didn’t disclose a purchase order value. Bosch stated it plans to take a position $1.5 billion to retool TSI’s chip manufacturing amenities in Roseville, California to start out producing silicon carbide chips by 2026.

The funding “will be heavily dependent on federal funding opportunities” by way of the CHIPS act in addition to state subsidies, Bosch stated in an announcement.

Bosch stated the TSI facility would turn into the “third pillar” of in-house semiconductor manufacturing, together with two websites in Germany.

Like different automotive producers, Bosch was hit arduous over the previous two years by disruptions to semiconductor manufacturing in Asia, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Those shortages have eased however not gone away. Bosch’s automaker prospects have continued to push for safer, diversified sources of chips.

The silicon carbide chips Bosch stated it’s going to manufacture on the TSI Roseville web site are more and more in demand by electrical car producers. The silicon carbide chemistry allows better driving vary and quicker recharging, Bosch stated.

Demand for silicon carbide semiconductors is rising by 30% yearly, Bosch stated. That demand has led to a surge in funding within the chips. US-based Wolfspeed Inc is constructing new crops to make silicon carbide chips in New York State and in Germany. Onsemi Corp can also be investing closely in silicon carbide and has signed a strategic settlement with Volkswagen AG to provide chips to the automaker.

The TSI web site at present is a foundry for application-specific built-in circuits, or ASICs utilized in varied industries, Bosch stated.

Bosch plans to amass the buildings, machines and infrastructure of TSI in addition to effectively as its industrial semiconductor business. After re-tooling the manufacturing facility, Bosch stated it plans to start out producing silicon carbide chips on 200-milimeter wafers – the discs of silicon that chips are produced upon – in 2026 in 10,000 ft of unpolluted room house.

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