Saxony: A New Player in the League of Leading Global Semiconductor Locations

Saxony sets the right priorities for microelectronics as one of the most important key technologies for business and society. This was effectively showcased in early August, when the world’s largest chip manufacturer TSMC announced its decision to set up a chip factory for ten billion euros in Dresden together with Bosch, Infineon, and NXP. The global players Infineon and Bosch have also made the biggest single investments in their corporate history in Saxony. Thus, Saxony reinforces and strengthens its position as the largest European microelectronics cluster.

The German region continues to score points in the international competition with its special ecosystem. “Silicon Saxony” unites a particularly multifaceted innovation landscape, a strong supplier base, and a high affinity towards technology under its roof and is supported by internationally recognized clusters and business networks. Currently, about 3,600 companies with more than 76,000 employees are working here along all stages of the value chain.

Vibrant R&D Landscape and High Potential for Innovation

The high density of technologically oriented academic institutions, research and educational facilities has contributed significantly towards this success story as well. Four universities, five universities of applied sciences, nine Fraunhofer, three Leibniz, one Helmholtz, and two Max Planck institutes are active just in this field alone – and many of them are global leaders in their discipline. In addition, 25 educational facilities ensure and assure the qualification of young professionals in the technology and IT sectors. Furthermore, there is the political will to work towards the location’s further expansion in the microelectronics sector and to provide the necessary technical and social infrastructure.

The great innovative potential of the region is particularly evident in cross-industry collaboration actively pushing innovation in fields like artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and medical technology. The chip industry is also closely affiliated with the automotive sector and the Volkswagen plants in Zwickau, Chemnitz, and Dresden as well as the Porsche and BMW plants in Leipzig. Numerous stakeholders in Saxony are already established collaborators within the global mobility sector, particularly in the realm of autonomous driving. A notable illustration of this collaboration is the automated driving sweeper, a.sweep, which originated from the Transatlantic Autonomous Driving Alliance (TADA), which seeks to create a network that connects U.S. and German companies around emerging vehicle technology.

Positive Signal for the Entire Region

As one of the leading global semiconductor regions of the future, Saxony expects to provide significant impulses for additional business setups that offer services and technologies revolving around chip production. And many companies from the region which already play an active role in the value chain as well as the user industries will also benefit from these signals – whether it be large corporate groups or small and medium sized enterprises. Moreover, the sector’s attractiveness will make Saxony even more appealing to skilled employees from Germany and abroad. In addition to numerous options for their professional careers in fascinating industries of the future, Saxony also offers an attractive environment with a high quality of life – above all, for families. And to meet the continuously increasing demand for skilled employees, the Federal State plans to establish an academy for general and continued education and training in the field of microelectronics while also focusing on the potential of Saxon repatriates. For those aspiring to contribute to cutting-edge and pioneering subjects in Europe will find Saxony as the unparalleled destination.