By increasing the production, the company hopes to cope with the continuously increasing demand for chips used in mobility and IoT applications
Bosch announces further investment in its Reutlingen wafer fab. (Credit: Robert Bosch GmbH)
Robert Bosch revealed plans to further expand its semiconductor production capacity in Reutlingen, Germany with an investment of more than €250m.
The German engineering and technology company said that the investment will be made in creating new production space and the required clean-room facilities through 2025.
Bosch said that the extension of its Reutlingen wafer fab will give it the firepower to cope with the continuously increasing demand for chips used in mobility and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
Bosch board of management chairman Stefan Hartung said: “We are systematically expanding our manufacturing capacity for semiconductors in Reutlingen.
“This new investment will not only strengthen our competitive position, but will also benefit our customers and help combat the crisis in the semiconductor supply chain.”
The engineering and technology company said that the construction of a new extension in Reutlingen will provide an additional 3,600m2 of ultramodern clean-room space.
Bosch said that the additional capacity will be used for manufacturing semiconductors, based on technology already available at the Reutlingen plant.
The German firm also plans to extend an existing power supply facility at the wafer fab. The company will construct an additional building for media supply systems that will serve the new and existing production areas.
The new production area is slated to become operational in 2025.
The latest investment follows Bosch’s announcement in October 2021 of investing over €400m in 2022 in its chip manufacturing facilities to address the global chip shortage. Nearly €50m of the investment was allocated for the wafer fab in Reutlingen.
Additionally, the company had committed an investment of €150m to create additional clean-room space in existing buildings at the Reutlingen facility from 2021 to 2023.
In Reutlingen, Bosch uses the 150mm and 200mm technology. By the end of 2025, the clean-room space in Reutlingen is set to grow from nearly 35,000m2 to more than 44,000m2.