Semiconductor industry association sees growth in Silicon Saxony

The industry network Silicon Saxony is optimistic about the future. 2024 was a good year for the semiconductor industry, Managing Director Frank Bösenberg told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Progress is being made on all projects in Saxony. The highlight was the ground-breaking ceremony for the new chip factory of TSMC and its partners in Dresden. The funding for this has now finally been approved.

All projects in Silicon Saxony are on schedule

Infineon's construction site is also on schedule. Other companies such as Bosch, X-Fab and Jenoptik are continuing to invest. Intel's announcement that it would not be building the plant in Magdeburg for the time being may have caused a moment of shock here too. However, the association had assumed that the projects in the Free State would continue as planned. "The optimism we had at the end of the previous year was justified."

Bösenberg sees no direct impact from Intel's announcement. However, it will have an impact on the objectives of the European Chip Act. The targeted expansion of European production capacity to a global market share of 20 percent would not be possible without the Intel plant. It would be good for Germany as a business location if the decision were only postponed and not overturned. We will now have to wait and see.

Industry faces major challenges

Bösenberg admitted that the industry continues to face major challenges. "The problems of the overall economy in Germany also apply to the semiconductor industry. These include the high energy prices, the reduction in bureaucracy and the shortage of skilled workers. As an association, we are also concerned about the state of the infrastructure. The partial collapse of Dresden's Carola Bridge is proof of this."

For good management of the industry, we actually need even more infrastructure, said the Managing Director. At the very least, the existing infrastructure should work. This is important for further relocations. Initially, however, consolidation is expected. With ESMC (European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) - the joint venture between TSMC, Bosch, Infineon and NXP Semiconductors - more suppliers are coming to Saxony.

Industry association expects further growth

Silicon Saxony's CEO Dirk Röhrborn made a similar statement at the Silicon Saxony Day industry meeting with more than 750 experts from over 20 countries. "We assume that other companies will also find their way to Saxony in order to benefit from the research density, production and expertise of the many medium-sized companies," he said. A new era is beginning for Silicon Saxony.

"We are expecting more growth in the medium term," said Bösenberg. The growth path already described will continue. He assumes that the industry will have more than 100,000 employees in Silicon Saxony in 2030. In 2023, the number of employees was 81,000 and the workforce had grown by 6.4 percent within one year.