At an official ceremony in Dresden, Germany, on Thursday (July 2), Infineon Technologies hailed the early launchâthree months ahead of scheduleâof its new âsmart power fabâ, Module 4. While much of the attention has focused on the price tag, the â¬5 billion (~$5.7 billion) investment, the more notable aspect is the speed of execution, from groundbreaking in May 2023 (see Infineon Breaks Ground on 300-mm Fab in Dresden) to formal opening in July 2026.
To gain insight into the project strategy behind this achievement, EE Times sat down with Alexander Gorski, chief operations officer at Infineon Technologies, during the opening ceremony. In a video interview, he discussed the role of AI and the âone virtual fabâ concept across Infineonâs sites in Austria, Malaysia and Germany, in reaching this point, as well as the financial and capacity impact (when fully loaded Gorski said the fab will bring about â¬5 billion (~$5.7 billion) in additional revenue), and the products that will be manufactured here. The key is the global scale: The Dresden Module 4 fab will become the companyâs largest facility for intelligent power semiconductor systems, outscaling comparable sites in Asia and the U.S.
You can watch the full video interview here:
The audio-only link is also available below:
The opening of the fab is significant for Germany and Europe in many respects. A key industry focus right now is expanding semiconductor manufacturing capacity to meet current demand from AI data centers, and Infineon appears well-placed to support that build-out with additional capacity for power semiconductors and analog/mixed-signal devices.
In his official statement, Infineon Technologiesâ CEO, Jochen Hanebeck, said, “We’re opening our new plant at just the right time. Our smart power fab is creating urgently needed capacities for the key technologies of the future, for everything from energy supply for AI data centers to software-defined vehicles and renewable energies. Infineon is thus giving an important impulse in making the global AI revolution possible and securing supply chains in critical industries. By taking this step, we are strengthening our global vanguard position as a leading manufacturer of power semiconductors and analog/mixed-signal technologies.”
At the opening ceremony, several German local and state dignitaries hailed the milestone as significant. German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed about 400 people from the local Silicon Saxony ecosystem by video, praising the investment that would enable competitive, cutting-edge semiconductor production in the country.
Speaking in person at the event were German Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernization, Karsten Wildberger, and Saxony’s Minister-President, Michael Kretschmer. In his prepared statement, Kretschmer said, âInfineon’s new smart power fab makes this unique ecosystem stronger and shows that major industrial projects can be implemented securely and swiftly with the right basic prerequisites. This sends a strong signal about Dresden as an industrial location and about the future of microelectronics in Europe.”
One virtual fab enables speed, flexibility, and agility
In the video interview with EE Times, Gorski emphasizes how Infineon was able to execute this massive infrastructure project in Dresden ahead of schedule by using real-time digital twins and a unified global operational model that mirrors processes simultaneously across European and Asian facilities. He called it the âone virtual fabâ concept.
Gorski said Infineon has spent the last few years quietly standardizing its major global manufacturing hubsâspecifically Villach (Austria), Kulim (Malaysia), and Dresden (Germany)âso they run on the same tools, the same processes, and the same software. This standardization, combined with digital twins of operations, enables tasks such as qualifying complex equipment to be completed much more quickly.Â
This âone virtual fabâ blueprint also enables Infineon to ramp up capacity twice as fast as in the pastâfor example, by using experience gained from existing tools and equipment to optimize identical tools and equipment in a new fab.
Another point Gorski highlighted, and one reflected in the attendance at the opening ceremony, is Infineonâs hybrid manufacturing strategy. It is a point probably missed by many political leaders who talk about âbringing the manufacturing supply chain homeâ: One country or company cannot do everything thatâs needed in the semiconductor supply chain, from process technologies to packaging. While Infineon has its global network of both front-end and back-end facilities, it also adopts a hybrid outsourcing strategy depending on the products.
So, for example, a higher proportion of its control and connectivity products is manufactured by outsourcing than its analog and sensing products or just power devices.
Gorski said the new 300-mm fab in Dresden will manufacture everything from standard power switches (e.g., MOSFETs) and complex analog/mixed-signal power management ICs to highly intricate SoCs for humanoid robotics.
Read also:
Silicon Saxony Shows Promise, Limits of Europeâs Chips Act
At Silicon Saxony Days 2026, Frank Bösenberg said Dresden illustrates âwhat is possibleâ under Europeâs first Chips Act.
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