GlobalFoundries announced plans to invest €1.1 billion to expand manufacturing at its Dresden, Germany site, aiming to lift annual output to more than one million wafers by the end of 2028. The company says the expansion—known internally as project SPRINT—will make Dresden the largest facility of its kind in Europe, strengthening regional supply resilience and supporting fast-growing demand across automotive, IoT, defense, and critical infrastructure.
The program is expected to receive support from the German federal government and the State of Saxony within the framework of the European Chips Act, pending EU approval anticipated later this year. In addition to capacity growth, the site will be upgraded to provide end-to-end European processes and data flows aligned with stringent semiconductor security requirements.
German leaders welcomed the move during a visit to the Dresden campus. Chancellor Friedrich Merz called SPRINT “a commitment to Germany as an industrial and innovation location— and above all to the sovereignty of our country and Europe.” Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer said the billion-euro expansion underscores “Silicon Saxony’s” status as Europe’s leading microelectronics cluster and enhances European technological independence.
GlobalFoundries notes that recent disruptions—particularly in automotive—have highlighted the vulnerability of global chip supply chains. Scaling Dresden is a core element of the company’s broader strategy to diversify and regionalize manufacturing, with parallel investments underway in Europe, the United States, and other regions. According to CEO Tim Breen, the expansion is designed to provide customers in critical industries with secure supply and differentiated technologies as “physical AI” applications accelerate.
The added capacity will focus on GlobalFoundries’ specialty platforms featuring low-power operation, embedded secure memory, and advanced wireless connectivity. These technologies are central to next-generation vehicles, industrial and IoT systems, and high-reliability infrastructure. The company also expects the site to contribute to ongoing innovation in emerging compute architectures and quantum-related technologies through the next decade.
European partners and customers emphasized the strategic impact. Leaders from Aumovio SE, Bosch, Infineon, NXP, Siemens, and SpiNNcloud pointed to stronger regional resilience, a deeper capabilities ecosystem in Saxony, and faster commercialization cycles for advanced mobility and AI hardware.
The announcement follows GlobalFoundries’ recent participation in the “Made for Germany” initiative, which brings together companies committing long-term industrial investment in the country. Since 2009, the company has invested more than €10 billion in its Dresden operations, making it one of Germany’s largest industrial investments and a foundational asset for Europe’s semiconductor ambitions.
Original – GlobalFoundries