Reuters reported on October 22, 2026, that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) had surveyed equipment suppliers about rare-earth-free motors for factory-automation equipment. Three industry executives briefed on the plans told Reuters that the discussions were at an early stage, with no broad rollout. Reuters said TSMC declined to comment.

What rare-earth-free motors could change

A motor converts electrical energy into motion. In factory-automation equipment, motors move the machine parts that support semiconductor manufacturing. Some motors use permanent magnets made with rare-earth materials, so a supply disruption affecting those components could complicate equipment maintenance, repairs or expansion.

That is the supply-chain issue behind TSMC’s reported inquiry. The report concerns motors for factory equipment, not a change to chip designs or a completed switch across TSMC’s factories.

Three general alternatives and their trade-offs

Tom’s Hardware describes three motor approaches that can avoid rare-earth magnets. These are general technical options, not designs identified as TSMC’s choices:

  • Induction motors generate torque through electromagnetic induction rather than permanent magnets.
  • Switched-reluctance motors are another approach that can operate without rare-earth magnets.
  • Ferrite-magnet motors use ferrite in place of rare-earth magnets in some permanent-magnet designs.

Tom’s Hardware notes that these approaches can involve trade-offs in efficiency, size, power density, precision and control requirements. Those factors matter when a motor must move factory equipment precisely; avoiding one material does not, by itself, make a different motor a direct replacement. No specific design or supplier was identified in Reuters’ account of the survey.

Taiwan’s ITRI project is a separate effort

Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is working with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Department of Industrial Technology on a rare-earth project, Reuters reported. In February 2026, Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said the government would support an ITRI pilot line planned within three years, with a goal of meeting about 50% of Taiwan’s domestic rare-earth demand. That research and supply effort is separate from TSMC’s inquiry about factory motors.