The German semiconductor leader Infineon inaugurated a microchip facility costing five billion euros ($5.7 billion), as Europe aims to enhance its technological independence.
The "Smart Power Fab" located in the eastern city of Dresden, finished three months earlier than planned, is regarded as a representation of the EU's efforts to lessen reliance on Asia and the United States for essential components.
Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck stated at the inauguration, "We all aim to enhance Europe's status as a semiconductor center.Technological sovereignty starts not with words, but with factories like this."
The facility will manufacture chips for smart power management utilized in electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar plants, and data centers essential for artificial intelligence.
The facility will function around the clock, every day of the week, with staff working in three shifts.
In the highly automated "clean rooms" where chips are produced, the air is constantly filtered to remove nearly all dust, and workers don a polyester-carbon fiber blend suit, hood, mask, latex gloves, and boots to avoid any contamination.
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The facility received support from the EU's Chips Act, which provided one billion euros in subsidies, as part of a larger strategy to increase the EU's global semiconductor production share from 10 to 20 percent by 2030.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at the event through a live video connection from Berlin, stated that the plant inauguration "holds direct strategic importance for our digital sovereignty, economic resilience, and independence."
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"Year after year, investment in data centres is reaching unprecedented levels," Merz remarked, pointing to the surge in demand driven by AI. "Since the groundwork for tomorrow's industries is being established now."
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Construction on the new facility commenced in May 2023, marking the largest individual investment in Infineon’s history and a significant strategic shift for the technology company located near Munich.