Green light from Brussels: €319 million in state aid for Infineon's GaN plant in Villach
The European Commission has approved Austrian aid for the first high-volume production of gallium nitride power chips on 300-millimetre wafers. The expansion is due to be completed in 2034.
Archive image · Photo: Johann Jaritz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The European Commission on Wednesday approved 319 million euros in Austrian state aid for chipmaker Infineon. The money goes towards a 1.1-billion-euro upgrade of its plant in Villach, Carinthia, which the company says will become the world's first high-volume manufacturing site for gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors on 300-millimetre wafers. The approval was granted under the EU Chips Act; the Commission said the measure will "strengthen the EU's position and autonomy in the semiconductor value chain".
GaN chips are increasingly replacing silicon in power electronics because they handle higher voltages, switch faster and tolerate higher temperatures. They are used in chargers, data centres, electric vehicles, solar and wind installations and mobile base stations. A 300-millimetre wafer holds 2.3 times as many chips as the conventional 200-millimetre version, lowering costs. In 2024 Infineon became the first company to process such large GaN wafers.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker called it one of the largest single investments in the history of Austria's high-tech industry. Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck said the company will be the first in the world to bring GaN power electronics on 300-millimetre wafers into volume production. The upgrade is expected to be completed in 2034. The EU aims to double its share of global chip production from 10 per cent in 2023 to 20 per cent by 2030.