B5-billion-euro complex to help EU achieve more digital autonomy
An employee holds a 300mm wafer at the new Smart Power Fab of the German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies in Dresden. (Photo: AFP)
DRESDEN, Germany - The German semiconductor giant Infineon opened a five-billion-euro ($5.7 billion) microchip plant on Thursday, as Europe seeks to bolster its high-tech autonomy.The “Smart Power Fab” in the eastern city of Dresden, completed three months ahead of schedule, has been hailed as a symbol of an EU push to reduce dependency for crucial parts on Asia and the United States.
“We all want to further strengthen Europe’s position as a semiconductor hub,” Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck said at the opening ceremony. “And technological sovereignty does not begin with words, but with factories like this one.”
The plant will produce chips for intelligent power management that are used in everything from electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar plants to data centres crucial for artificial intelligence.
