MC EXCLUSIVE Tata Consulting Engineers in talks with Odisha semiconductor plant promoters, scales up projects

Tata Consulting Engineers in talks with Odisha semiconductor plant promoters, scales up projects

Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) is in discussions with the promoters of the upcoming semiconductor plants in Odisha, its chief executive officer Amit Sharma said on the sidelines of Semicon India 2025 in New Delhi on September 2.

The government last month approved five semicondcutor plants. Two of them are being set up in Info Valley, Bhubaneswar — a silicon carbide fab by SiCSem with UK’s Clas-SiC Wafer Fab, and an advanced packaging unit by US-based 3D Glass Solutions, backed by firms like Intel and Lockheed Martin.

“I am in touch with the promoter there on both these projects, and of course, we continue to work with our group company Tata Electronics as well as other investors in this space,” Sharma said in an interview to Moneycontrol.

Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) builds the specialised infrastructure required for semiconductor manufacturing, including ultra-clean fabs, class 10 and class 1 cleanrooms, and facilities for handling hazardous chemicals and precision processes. The company designs and engineers these plants to meet current chipmaking needs while ensuring they can be upgraded for future technology nodes, Sharma explained.

TCE’s semiconductor pilot in Bengaluru has been running successfully for four years and is now being replicated in Assam (Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test in Jagiroad, Assam) where a million-square-foot facility is expected to be ready by next year, Sharma said.

“We started from scratch in Bengaluru, stabilised the process, and now we are making it big in Assam,” Sharma said.

He underlined the precision required to build fabs, especially in cleanroom design. “We have done clean rooms in pharma and specialty chemicals, but here the specs are class 10 and class 1, compared to class 1,000 or class 100 elsewhere. Even the fumes from ordinary paint can interfere with chipmaking, because this is an atom-by-atom deposition process. The paint is special, the floor is special — even slight vibration can destroy the chip,” he said.

To build talent, TCE has tied up with Arizona State University, which runs its own fabrication facility, and recently acquired US-based CDI Engineering Solutions to deepen capabilities in chemicals and plant construction. The firm also works with partners in Taiwan, Germany, Malaysia, Israel, and the US.