The European Commission has approved a 920 million subsidy of euros for the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in DresDE (Germany). The company that owns the future plant, Infineon, has framed the factory lifting in the Megafab-DD project, which has launched in order to produce a wide variety of types of chip.
In addition, this plant will improve the production capacity of the EU chips, and therefore will strengthen safety and resilience in terms of technological supplies in the region. It will also give an impulse to the area in terms of autonomy in technology and semiconductor manufacturing, in line with the objectives arranged in the EU Chips Law and in the political norms for the European Commission 2024-2029.
The plant, as indicated by Germany, will use two families of chips production technologies: discrete power technologies, used in electronic systems to carry energy for ignition, management and control; and integrated mixed signal circuits, crucial to cover the egg between analog and digital environments. The semiconductors produced in the plant thanks to them will be used in the industry, consumer and automotive sectors.
In addition, the new facilities of this plant will be the first to quickly change their production between the two families of technologies, maintaining their production capacity at a high level. On the other hand, it will be a “front-end” plant, in which the wafering process, its test and division will be covered. The factory will be at full performance in 2031.
The approved subsidy will be added to the investment that Infineon will make in the plant: 3.5 billion euros. In order to achieve it, the company has pledged to ensure that the project will have positive effects for the EU semiconductor value chain, as well as investing in R&D for the next generation of European chips.
Apart from this, Infineon will contribute to crisis preparation. For this, it has pledged to implement orders based on the priorities in case there is a shortage of supplies, in line with the regulations of the EU Chips Law. It will also offer access to these new facilities to SMEs and research institutions, both to do tests and prototyped tasks.
According to Teresa Ribera, competitive transition vice president, fair and clean of the European Union«The 920 million euros approved today for Germany support a latest technology megaphabic in Dresde. This project will support the development of a digital and solid economy in Europe, and ensure a safe semiconductor supply for the industry, while limiting any potential distortion of competition«.
