The Kulim fab, built in February 2022 will be expanded in the second phase of development announced this week. The planned expansion, depicted in the artist’s rendering, is backed by customer commitments covering about five billion euros of new design-wins in automotive and industrial applications as well as about one billion euros in pre-payments.

The planned expansion is backed by customer commitments covering about €5bn of new design wins in automotive and industrial applications as well as about €1bn in pre-payments. Infineon says it expects the 200mm SiC power fab will lead to a total revenue potential of more than €7bn by 2030 with the planned 200mm SiC conversion of Villach and Kulim.

Infineon has announced a SiC market share target of 30% towards the end of the decade. Infineon is confident that the company’s SiC revenue in the fiscal year 2025 will come in ahead of the target of €1bn.

“The market for silicon carbide shows accelerating growth, not only in automotive but also in a broad range of industrial applications such as solar, energy storage and high power EV charging,” says Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon.

He added that Infineon is “leveraging our competitive position of best-in-class SiC trench technology, the broadest package portfolio and unrivalled application understanding”.

Infineon has been awarded new design wins of about €5bn and around €1bn in prepayments from existing and new customers, including six automotive OEMs, three of which are from China and include Ford, SAIC and Chery. Renewable energies customers include SolarEdge and three Chinese photovoltaic and energy storage systems companies.  In addition, Infineon and Schneider Electric agreed on a capacity reservation including prepayments for power products based on silicon and SiC.

The Right Honourable Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, comments: "Malaysia is putting in maximum efforts to meet its national target to decarbonize its economy and achieve net zero by 2050. Malaysia’s continued appeal as a preferred investment destination comes with a well-established landscape for developing innovative and sustainable technologies. In this vein, Infineon’s vision on green technology and sustainability puts it right at home in Malaysia”. He continued that Malaysia’s economic growth will be “enabled by strong policies on knowledge transfer, quality investments, business enablement and socio-economic well-being based on equitable sharing of the nation’s wealth."

The Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), His Hon. Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz, describes the Kulim facility as “a significant milestone in Malaysia's pursuit of developing advanced manufacturing capabilities, creating high-skilled employment opportunities and positioning the country at the forefront of enabling green technologies, which are crucial to achieving our global sustainable development goals. The innovative power semiconductor technologies manufactured in the SiC Power Fab will also bolster Malaysia's position as a key player in the world's semiconductor ecosystem, with a growing role specifically in the sustainable technology supply chain”.

Infineon adds that sustainability is a key element in the planning, construction and operation of the fab, which is designed to make responsible use of resources such as electricity and water.