The PORR Group will build a new semiconductor manufacturing plant for X-FAB in the city of Erfurt, Germany. The planned plant has been named Fab4Micro and will help in expanding the manufacturing capability of X-FAB for MEMS, advanced microsystems, and photonic systems.
Timelines for Project and Project Scope The construction of the plant is expected to begin in July 2026 and continue till July 2028. After the completion of construction and connection of the plant systems, the production process at the plant will commence in December 2028.
The scope of the project includes:
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Cleanroom Space: Construction of approximately 3,500 square meters of highly specialized cleanroom area.
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Turnkey Services: Full responsibility covering initial planning, architectural design, structural building, utility integration, equipment hook-up, and final system commissioning.
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Manufacturing Focus: Deployment of wafer-level manufacturing processes designed to yield MEMS and heterogeneously integrated systems.
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Target Industries: Production of semiconductor components tailored specifically for the automotive, medical technology, and general industrial sectors.
Engineering and Design Challenges Semiconductor manufacturing demands extreme control over environmental variables. Because the Erfurt facility will house highly sensitive lithography and production tools, PORR is designing the building with advanced vibration-mitigation infrastructure. This engineering focus will prevent external disturbances, such as local road and rail traffic, from interfering with microscopic manufacturing operations.
In addition to vibration isolation, the factory is engineered for continuous 24/7 operation. To guarantee uninterrupted production, the facility will incorporate redundant, fail-safe utility systems to prevent unexpected downtime.
Sustainability and operational efficiency are also central to the building’s design. The complex will feature integrated energy-saving measures, including extensive heat recovery systems to reuse process warmth and building-mounted photovoltaic installations to generate renewable electricity on-site.
Funding and Regulatory Context The Fab4Micro project benefits from major public financial support aimed at strengthening European chip production capacity. Total public backing for the expansion amounts to €127.4 million, provided jointly by the German federal government and the local state government.
Financial support is distributed through two key channels:
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Federal Contribution: Approximately €80.3 million supplied directly by the German federal government.
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State Contribution: €47.1 million provided by the Free State of Thuringia.
This state aid program was officially sanctioned by the European Commission in December 2025 based on the European Chips Act. The money received from this state aid will provide X-FAB with the opportunity to expand the production capacities of its factory in Erfurt through phased expansions based on the changing needs of the customers.
Industrial Background and Drivers of Demand The demand for specialized semiconductor manufacturing continues growing globally. In addition to general-purpose computing chips and microprocessors, industries such as autonomous driving, intelligent sensing, medicine, and artificial intelligence chipsets need customized analog, mixed signal, and photonic products.
X-FAB specializes in manufacturing such custom-made semiconductors as silicon carbide, gallium nitride, and specialized MEMS. By hiring PORR – an international construction company with vast experience in constructing large-scale specialized facilities – X-FAB plans to rapidly increase the available specialized clean room capacity.
