Bosch opens wafer fab of the future in Dresden

• Bosch CEO Denner: “With our first AIoT factory, we are setting new standards in chip production.”
• Artificial intelligence will create a sound basis for data-driven, continuous improvement in production, as well as for fast production rollouts.
• The first chips for Bosch power tools will roll off the production line in July – six months earlier than planned.
• At roughly one billion euros, the new manufacturing facility is the biggest single investment in Bosch’s more than 130-year history.
• It is planned that 700 people will work in the facility once it is completed.
• Bosch new factory location in Penang as final testing phase for sensors and semiconductors

Dresden, Germany / Penang, Malaysia – Fully connected, data-driven, self-optimizing: in Dresden, Bosch is opening one of the world’s most modern wafer fabs. Highly automated, fully connected machines and integrated processes, combined with methods of artificial intelligence (AI) will make the Dresden plant a smart factory and a trailblazer in Industry 4.0. In the virtual presence of Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, EU Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, and Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer, the high-tech facility was officially inaugurated on June 7, 2021.

“For Bosch, semiconductors are a core technology, and it is strategically important to develop and manufacture them ourselves. In Dresden, with the help of artificial intelligence, we will take semiconductor manufacturing to the next level,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “This is our first AIoT factory: fully connected, data-driven, and self-optimizing right from the start.” Bosch is investing roughly one billion euros in this high-tech location. This is the biggest single investment in the company’s more than 130-year history. Production in Dresden will start as early as July – six months earlier than planned. From that time on, semiconductors made in the new plant will be installed in Bosch power tools. For automotive customers, chip production will start in September, and thus three months earlier than planned.

The new factory will be an important part of the semiconductor manufacturing network. On 72,000 square meters of floor space, 250 people are already working in the wafer fab in Saxony’s state capital. The workforce is set to grow to roughly 700 once construction work has been completed.

No other automotive supplier has been working intensively on microelectronics since the 1950s. Since 1958, Bosch has been making semiconductor components itself. And since 1970, the company’s Reutlingen plant has been making special components that are not commercially available. In its wafer fabs in Reutlingen and Dresden alone, Bosch has invested more than 2.5 billion euros since 200-millimeter technology was introduced in 2010. On top of this, billions of euros have been invested in developing microelectronics. In this way, the company is continuing to pursue its growth strategy in semiconductor development and manufacturing. “This expertise is the key to many high-caliber systems solutions made by Bosch,” Denner said.

Machines that think for themselves, maintenance work from 9,000 kilometers away, glasses with built-in cameras: the wafer fab that has now been built in Dresden is one of the world’s most advanced. “Thanks to the combination of artificial intelligence and the internet of things, we are creating the basis for data-driven, continuous improvement in manufacturing,” Denner said. In concrete terms, this means that all the data in the wafer fab – from machinery, sensors, and products – is collected in a central database. The result: every second, production data equivalent to 500 pages of text is generated. In just one day, this would be equivalent to more than 42 million pages. This data is then evaluated using methods of artificial intelligence. In this process, self-optimizing algorithms learn how to make predictions on the basis of the data. In this way, manufacturing and maintenance processes can be analyzed in real time. For example, an AI algorithm can detect even the tiniest anomalies in products. These anomalies are visible on the wafer surface in the form of specific error patterns known as signatures. Their causes are immediately analyzed and deviations from the process corrected without delay, even before they can affect the reliability of the product. “Artificial intelligence is the key to further improving the manufacturing processes and semiconductor quality, as well as to achieving a high level of process stability.” Denner said. In turn, it means that semiconductor products can go into full-scale production quickly, saving automotive customers the need for the time-consuming trials that would otherwise be necessary before production release. Maintenance work can also be optimized thanks to artificial intelligence. Algorithms can precisely predict whether and when a piece of manufacturing machinery or a robot needs maintenance or adjustment. In other words, such work is not done according to a rigid schedule, but precisely when it is needed – and well in advance of any problems cropping up.

In the shape of microchips, semiconductors are to be found in nearly every technical device – in smartphone, televisions, and fitness bracelets. And without semiconductors, cars would not work, either today or in the future. In 2016, every new vehicle worldwide had an average of more than nine Bosch chips on board, in devices such as the airbag control unit, the braking system, and the park assist system. In 2019, this figure was already more than 17. In other words, their number had nearly doubled in just a few years. In the years to come, experts expect to see the strongest growth in driver assistance systems, infotainment, and the electrification of the powertrain. With its wafer fab in Dresden, Bosch is responding to the increased demand for semiconductors. “Semiconductors are the building blocks of progress. Electronic components equipped with chips from Dresden will make applications such as automated and resource-conserving driving possible, as well as the best possible occupant protection,” said Harald Kroeger, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. Surveys confirm this growth in demand: as recently as 1998, according to the ZVEI, the value of the microelectronics in a new car was 120 euros. By 2018, this value had risen to 500 euros, and in 2023 it is expected to exceed 600 euros. This means that semiconductors are a growth area for Bosch as well.

In June 2020, Bosch announced the purchase of an approximately 100,000 sqm of land in the Batu Kawan Industrial Park in Penang. The land is intended for a manufacturing facility which is currently under construction. Completion of the production area and first series production is expected to commence in 2023, this facility will primarily focus on the final testing of components manufactured at Bosch Automotive Electronics’ fab in Dresden Germany. These components comprise semiconductors used in airbag systems or engine control units, to name a few. The plant will also house R&D and training facilities. Other locations which Bosch Automotive Electronics is already testing components as intended for the facility in Penang are Reutlingen and Suzhou, China.

Press photos: https://www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/bosch-opens-chip-factory-of-the-future-in-dresden-228736.html

Additional information:

Press kit to accompany the inauguration of the Dresden wafer fab

Virtual tour of the Dresden wafer fab

Bosch podcast “From KNOW-HOW to WOW” from the wafer fab

Bosch history blog: history of automotive electronics at Bosch