Infineon Announces €1.1 Billion Investment in World's First 300mm GaN Fab and 900V Switch Supply for AI Data Centers
Infineon plans to build the world's first 300mm GaN power semiconductor facility in Austria by 2027, aiming to cut costs and boost efficiency for AI infrastructure.
German chipmaker Infineon Technologies announced on October 27, 2026, that it will construct a new mass production facility for gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors using 300mm wafers at its site in Villach, Austria. According to the company, this will be the "world's first" such facility. Infineon plans to invest approximately €1.1 billion by 2034, with production expected to begin by the end of 2027. The investment falls under the support scope of the European Chips Act; the European Commission has approved €319 million in state aid, with the Austrian government's formal subsidy decision expected soon.
The shift to 300mm wafers is primarily aimed at reducing costs and increasing capacity. Infineon stated that compared to traditional 200mm wafers, the 300mm process can increase the number of chips obtained per wafer by 2.3 times, significantly lowering manufacturing costs. This move is designed to accelerate the commercialization of GaN technology in broader applications, particularly in AI data centers where efficiency demands are high.
In addition to capacity expansion, Infineon announced it will supply 900V-rated GaN monolithic bidirectional switches (BDS) to US energy technology firm Enphase Energy. Described as a "world first," the device integrates bidirectional voltage blocking and current conduction functions and is planned for use in solid-state transformers (SST) for AI data centers. By reducing the number of power conversion stages and component count, these high-voltage GaN devices help achieve higher efficiency and power density in power conversion, adapting to the growing power consumption of AI server racks.
Japanese competitor Renesas Electronics is also actively positioning itself in the AI data center power market. According to EE Times Japan, Renesas is developing a 20kW-class power system that directly converts 800V DC to 6V and has already provided samples to major OEMs and ODMs. The system uses 650V-rated GaN devices and targets an efficiency of over 96% at 20kW output. Although Renesas' efficiency figures are currently predictions based on component loss calculations and actual hardware evaluation is ongoing, this indicates that Japanese semiconductor firms are responding to the power challenges of AI infrastructure through technological innovation.