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The Commission cleared, under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU and the EU Chips Act's "first-of-a-kind facility" state-aid framework, a direct German grant of ~€495 million to GlobalFoundries for expansion of its existing Dresden 300mm wafer fab (Fab 1, "SPRINT" project). Total project cost is ~€1.1 billion, so the grant covers roughly 45% of eligible costs — GlobalFoundries funds the remainder from corporate capex.
The expansion adds ~5,000 m² of cleanroom/lab space and lifts annual capacity from ~950,000 to ~1.1 million (200mm-equivalent) wafers, primarily serving automotive, industrial and IoT customers. Production ramp is targeted to begin as early as 2027, with full capacity by end-2028.
The same decision covers a companion grant of ~€128 million to X-FAB for a new MEMS-sensor manufacturing line at its Erfurt site (production start targeted 2029), bringing the combined German semiconductor state-aid package approved in this decision to ~€623 million. Both recipients accepted conditions to prioritise EU customer orders in a supply crisis and to invest in skills/training pipelines for engineers.
primary European supplier of mature-node (>=22nm) automotive and industrial chips to German OEMs and Tier-1s (Bosch, Continental, Infineon-adjacent supply chains); added capacity reduces reliance on Asian mature-node foundries (TSMC, UMC, SMIC) for these node classes.
"first-of-a-kind facility" clearance after ESMC/TSMC Dresden and Infineon Dresden Smart Power, reinforcing Dresden ("Silicon Saxony") as the EU's densest Chips-Act cluster; sits alongside the 2025-11-21 Onsemi Rožnov (Czechia) approval as part of the same EC state-aid wave.
Chips-Act coverage beyond logic/power semiconductors into MEMS sensor packaging, a segment with limited existing EU capacity.
co-financing envelope versus purely German federal/Saxon state budget with EU state-aid clearance only — not disclosed in the press release.
orders in a crisis" condition.