Samsung Electronics (OTCBB:SSNLF) is considering a second location in Texas for a planned $17-billion U.S. semiconductor plant, a signature project aimed at addressing U.S. concerns about microchip security.
The Korean company says it is exploring another six-million-square-foot site apart from a previously disclosed expansion of its Austin, Texas-based production facility. If it proceeds, Samsung will begin construction on the new site in the first quarter of 2022, with targeted completion by the final three months of 2024.
Samsung is weighing options for an advanced chipmaking plant in the U.S. in hopes of winning more American clients and narrowing the gap with industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM).
Samsung has said its Austin, Texas facility would be capable of fabricating microchips as advanced as three nanometers. Dubbed “Project Silicon Silver,” the plans include adding about seven million square feet of new space to the Austin campus, where the company has had operations for decades. It calls for total investment of about $17 billion U.S. and the creation of about 1,800 jobs over the first ten years.
Samsung is taking advantage of a concerted U.S. government effort to counter China’s rising economic prowess and lure back home some of the advanced manufacturing that over the past decades has gravitated toward Asia. In June, President Joe Biden laid out a sweeping effort to secure the country’s critical supply chains, including a proposed $52 billion U.S. to bolster domestic microchip manufacturing.
Samsung has said that it wants to be the biggest player in the $400 billion U.S. microchip industry.