Infineon Technologies AG announced on the 8th that Infineon will significantly expand its Kulim fab to build the world's largest 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor fab on the basis of the original investment announced in February 2022, which means that Infineon has taken another decisive step towards building a new market landscape.
The expansion plan is supported by the customer and includes new design orders of around EUR 5 billion for automotive and industrial applications and an advance payment of around EUR 1 billion.
Over the next five years, Infineon will invest up to €5 billion in the second phase of the module three site. By the end of the decade, this investment, together with the planned 200mm SiC retrofit at the Villach and Kulim plants, is expected to bring SiC to annual revenue of around €7 billion. This highly competitive production site will enable Infineon to achieve its goal of capturing 30 percent of the global SiC market share by 2030. Infineon is confident that the company's goal of silicon carbide revenues exceeding €1 billion in fiscal 2025 will be achieved.
Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon Technologies, said: "The silicon carbide market is accelerating, not only in the automotive sector, but also in a wide range of industrial applications such as solar, energy storage and high-power electric vehicle charging. The expansion of the Kulim plant will ensure our leadership in this market. With industry-leading scale and unique cost advantages, we are leveraging our competitive advantages, including leading SiC trench technology, a comprehensive packaging portfolio, and a deep understanding of applications. These strengths make us stand out and succeed in the industry. â€
Infineon has secured new design orders of around €5 billion and advance payments of around €1 billion from existing and new customers, including six OEMs in the automotive sector and three from China. Customers include Ford, SAIC and Chery. Customers in the renewable energy sector include SolarEdge and three leading PV and energy storage systems companies in China. In addition, Infineon and Schneider Electric agreed on capacity reservations, including upfront costs for silicon and silicon carbide products. Infineon and related customers will make separate announcements in the near future to disclose further details. These advances will make a positive contribution to Infineon's cash flow in the coming years and should be repaid in full according to the agreed sales volume by 2030 at the latest.
According to reports, sustainable development is one of the key elements in planning, building and operating the fab. The plant was designed to enable Infineon to use resources such as water and electricity responsibly.