Chipmakers delay a 2-nanometre line as water permits stall in two states
A flagship fabrication schedule slipped by at least two quarters after environmental reviews asked for more data on cooling water and discharge.
The companies involved still talk about the node as “on the roadmap.” Internally, according to three people briefed on the timeline, the first high-volume tools will not be powered until late next year.
Water, not lithography, is the bottleneck. Local boards want to see modelled drought years, not average years. One plant sits over an aquifer already used by farms.
Analysts said the slip is awkward for governments that sold the projects as proof they could onshore advanced manufacturing. It is less awkward for rivals whose older nodes still have spare capacity.
