Merck Taiwan Levels Up for the Future

For 36 years, Merck has steadily evolved from a market participant to a strategic partner across Taiwan’s critical industries. The company today operates as a full-function subsidiary, integrating R&D, production, technical service, digital operations, and commercial activities across its three core business sectors: Electronics, Life Science, and Healthcare.

“Taiwan is not only one of the world’s most important semiconductor hubs – it’s also a fast-emerging center for biotech and healthcare innovation,” says John Lee, Managing Director of Merck Group in Taiwan. “That makes it one of the most strategically significant locations for Merck’s global operations.”

Taiwan’s semiconductor sector, which accounted for over 60% of global foundry revenue in 2024, depends on a stable supply of high-purity materials and advanced process capabilities. To meet this demand, Merck is nearing completion of its NT$17 billion Kaohsiung mega site that will expand local capacity for specialty gases, thin film materials, and formulation chemicals.

This expansion is underpinned by Merck’s global “Level Up” initiative – a €3 billion multi-year program to expand R&D capacity, portfolio, manufacturing scale, and digital platforms in critical markets. Of the €2 billion allocated to capital expenditure, Taiwan is a top recipient.

Slated to open by the end of 2025, the new facility is by far Merck’s largest single investment in its electronics sector worldwide. It will operate alongside the company’s existing plant in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP), Luzhu Science Park, which currently houses production capabilities for thin film materials and advanced Delivery Systems & Services (DS&S) infrastructure, allowing Merck to provide ultra-precise material handling equipment to leading foundries.

The mega site, named Jade Park, spans 153,000 square meters, designed to meet LEED green building standards.  It will supply critical materials, including atomic layer deposition (ALD) technologies, and specialty gases, for semiconductor advanced nodes (under 7 nanometer) production process.

“We are bringing the key semiconductor materials infrastructure to Taiwan for the development of advanced technology nodes to ensure that the ecosystem stays competitive,” says Lee. “We see this as a strategic localization of upstream capabilities.”

“Today’s semiconductor nodes require atomic-scale precision and ultra-clean production environments,” Lee notes. “By co-developing solutions with our customers in Taiwan, we’re not just supplying inputs – we’re enabling innovation.”

While Electronics remains Merck Taiwan’s largest business, the company has also made significant headway in Life Science, supporting Taiwan’s ambition to scale up its biotechnology industry and CDMO capabilities. Through its M Lab™ Collaboration Center in the Taipei Bioinnovation Park, Merck offers biopharma companies access to advanced manufacturing technologies, hands-on process development support, and GMP-adjacent environments for experimentation.

To date, Merck has trained over 1,000 professionals in Taiwan’s biotech sector in collaboration with the Industrial Technology Research Institute and National Taiwan University, as well as through programs set in its M Lab™ Collaboration Center. The company has also established the Young Scientists Award for Taiwan’s young scientists to showcase their research results and provides technical mentorship to early-stage research teams.

“Many biotech startups lack access to industrial-grade facilities for process testing and scale-up,” says Lee. “M Lab™ fills that gap. It’s about accelerating the time from research to clinical readiness.”

Embracing digital transformation, Merck has partnered with U.S.-based Palantir Technologies to launch two sector-specific AI platforms: Athinia for semiconductor process optimization and Syntropy for pharmaceutical data integration. Both are designed to facilitate secure, cloud-based data collaboration across companies, universities, and R&D institutions.

“We’re now exploring how to deploy these platforms in Taiwan,” Lee says. “The goal is to break down silos and allow stakeholders to use collective data to improve yields, identify supply chain risks, and accelerate time-to-market.”

Sustainability is another core pillar. Merck has committed globally to achieving climate neutrality by 2040 and integrating sustainability targets into every layer of its operations by 2030. In Taiwan, this includes transitioning to renewable energy at its new sites, optimizing chemical use through closed-loop systems, and building all new infrastructure to green building standards.

“Our semiconductor customers are under enormous pressure to reduce environmental impact while pushing technical boundaries,” says Lee. “We see it as our responsibility to help them reconcile those goals.”

Merck is also addressing Taiwan’s long-term talent challenges through sustained investment in STEM education. In addition to corporate training programs, the company supports community outreach efforts, including the popular “Chemistry on the Go” mobile lab initiative, which brings science education to rural schools, and the “Railway of Popular Science” program organized by National Science and Technology Committee, which invites students from across the island for science education in a custom-outfitted train. “We don’t want to miss a single opportunity to inspire the next generation,” Lee says.

From the rollout of AI platforms and local production of high-performance materials to sustained investment in talent and sustainability, Merck is embedding its business in Taiwan’s industrial fabric. “Our vision is clear,” says Lee. “We want to be an essential partner in Taiwan’s innovation economy – for semiconductors, for biotech, for healthcare sector, and for the sustainable future we’re building together.”