Merck Opens Site for its Semiconductor Business in Taiwan
Merck has inaugurated its megasite for semiconductor solutions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The Electronics business sector has invested a total of €500 million there in recent years.
This will strengthen the resilience of Merck' s global supply chain while consolidating its leading role in the semiconductor ecosystem.
The new integrated production site will focus on semiconductor materials, especially thin films. The Thin Films business area in Merck 's Electronics business sector achieved record sales in Q3 2025 as a result of rapidly increasing demand for AI applications. Thin film technology makes it possible to deposit and remove materials at the atomic level. This allows complex chip architectures with significantly more layers to be implemented for advanced semiconductors.
"Our strategy is to be close to our customers and align ourselves with their technology roadmaps. With this investment, we are consolidating our position in one of the most strategically important semiconductor ecosystems in the world," said Kai Beckmann, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Electronics. "Our new site in Taiwan will support our long-term growth ambitions in the Electronics business sector and strengthen our R&D and manufacturing capabilities."
With an area of 150,000m2, the Kaohsiung site is Merck's largest production facility for semiconductor materials worldwide. The focus is on materials for thin-film technology, formulation materials and specialty gases for the precise layering, etching and structuring processes of modern semiconductor production. These materials are essential for the production of advanced logic and memory chips, especially for AI applications. With its "lab-to-fab, fab-to-lab" approach, Merck strengthens the local supply chain and enables seamless collaboration between research labs and wafer fabs. The new plant will start production in 2026 and create 150 additional jobs in Kaohsiung.
Built to LEED Gold certification standards, the site utilizes state-of-the-art smart manufacturing technologies such as digital twin technology. This increases precision and efficiency, optimizes processes and enables predictive maintenance. The renewable energy supply covers 50% of the annual electricity consumption.
With the investment in Kaohsiung, Merck's "Level Up" investment program announced in 2021 is almost complete and implemented. Over the past five years, Electronics has invested more than EUR 3 billion in innovations and built up additional capacities. In doing so, the company is supporting its key customers in their expansion plans and has increased the resilience of its supply chain.
