Infineon plans €1.1 billion Villach GaN chip factory

Infineon plans to invest around €1.1 billion in existing cleanroom facilities at its Villach, Austria, site by 2034 to establish high-volume production of gallium nitride power semiconductors on 300-millimeter wafers, the company said on October 27. Production is scheduled to begin by the end of 2027.

The project would add European manufacturing capacity for power chips that switch and convert electricity in AI data centers, energy infrastructure, electric vehicles, robotics and consumer electronics. Infineon did not disclose planned annual wafer or chip output, the cleanroom expansion area, customer commitments, a spending schedule or a project-specific job figure.

A 300-millimeter wafer has more usable surface area than the 200-millimeter format used for GaN production. Infineon says the larger format can yield 2.3 times as many chips per wafer, improving manufacturing economics. The company also says GaN devices can reduce energy lost as heat during power conversion, allowing for smaller, more efficient systems. Those performance benefits were not independently measured for the planned facility.

Infineon plans to reuse 300-millimeter silicon production equipment and upgrade existing infrastructure in Villach, an approach it says will speed implementation and improve capital efficiency. In September 2024, Infineon said it had processed 300-millimeter GaN wafers on an integrated pilot line inside the site’s existing silicon operation.

The company calls the planned line the world’s first high-volume manufacturing facility for 300-millimeter GaN power semiconductors. That designation has not been independently verified. Infineon said it will align the production ramp with demand from its target markets, leaving the scale and pace of the expansion dependent on future orders.

Infineon also said the European Commission had approved €319 million in state aid for the project. The research did not locate the project-specific Commission decision. Infineon said the formal Austrian funding commitment was still expected and would remain subject to location-related criteria.