Infineon plans €1.1 billion investment in Austrian gallium nitride production
Production at Villach is planned to begin by year-end 2027, with investment continuing until 2034.
German chipmaker Infineon has announced plans to invest about €1.1 billion at its Villach site in Austria to manufacture gallium nitride power chips. The company says the facility will be the world’s first to produce these chips at high volumes using 300mm wafers.
The European Commission has cleared €319 million in support under the EU Chips Act, though formal approval from Austria’s economy ministry remains pending. Infineon intends to use existing cleanrooms for the production lines, which it says will make the expansion cheaper than building a new plant.
Infineon plans to begin manufacturing by year-end 2027, continue investing until 2034 and adjust output as demand develops. Its intended markets include AI data centers, electricity networks, electric cars and robots.
Power chips regulate electricity inside devices. Gallium nitride, also known as GaN, switches faster than silicon while losing less energy and operating at lower temperatures. Infineon says a 300mm wafer accommodates about 2.3 times as many chips as a 200mm wafer, offering a route to lower costs. It first produced GaN wafers in the larger format in 2024.
The company has about 4,800 employees in Villach and about 5,800 across Austria. It did not specify how many additional jobs the expansion would create.
