European Commission Approves €659 Million German State Aid for Four Semiconductor Facilities
The European Commission has approved €659 million in German State aid to support the construction of four first-of-a-kind facilities in the semiconductor value chain. The aid measures align with the objectives of the Commission's Communication 'A Chips Act for Europe' and the 2024-2029 Political Guidelines.
Germany will provide direct grants as follows:
- €353 million to SME Element 3-5 GmbH for a facility in Baesweiler, North Rhine-Westphalia, to manufacture silicon carbide (SiC) epi-wafers.
- €214 million to Vishay Siliconix Itzehoe GmbH for a facility in Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein, to manufacture N- and P-channel Silicon Power MOSFETs.
- €74.4 million to KLA-Tencor MIE GmbH for a facility in Weilburg, Hesse, to manufacture advanced optical overlay and film metrology equipment.
- €17.9 million to KETEK GmbH for a facility in Munich, Bavaria, to manufacture Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) and Graphene Radiation Entry Windows (GREW) chips.
All four measures are jointly financed by the federal budget and the respective Länder authorities.
Project Details
Element 3-5's SiCnature project will establish a first-of-a-kind factory for SiC epi-wafers, which consist of silicon carbide wafers with a thin, high-quality layer added on top. These wafers are intended for use in aut...