More chip production needed in Europe, Infineon CEO says
By Christina Amann
MUNICH (Reuters) – Infineon Technologies AG Chief Executive Jochen Hanebeck supports contract manufacturers building more chip factories in Europe to reduce his company’s reliance on suppliers in Asia, he told Reuters on Tuesday.
“We would very much welcome even more capacity being established in Europe,” Hanebeck said in an interview, adding he was particularly interested in chips in the range of 28 to 12 nanometres.
At German chipmaker Infineon, about 15% of total production volume currently comes from Taiwan, and some components are sourced exclusively in the east Asian island state.
“We are very keen to develop additional sources for these microcontrollers,” Hanebeck added.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract manufacturer, has said it has not yet made a decision on a plant in Europe, but that no options were being ruled out.
Under the European Chips Act, the European Commission has earmarked a total of 15 billion euros ($15.6 billion) for public and private semiconductor projects by 2030. This is partly a reaction to U.S. government programmes worth billions.
The Commission wants to use the money to double Europe’s share of the highly competitive chip market by 2030.
Infineon said on Monday it was planning a new 5-billion-euro factory in the eastern German city of Dresden to expand its 300-millimetre production capacities.
The semiconductor company is dependent on state support for the Dresden factory, Hanebeck said, adding that although a funding decision had not yet been made, he has received a political signal.
The economy ministry said separately on Tuesday it would “quickly examine the funding possibilities for the project announced by Infineon in terms of state aid and subsidy law.”
($1 = 0.9619 euros)
(Additional reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Miranda Murray and Mark Potter)
