Electronica 2026: Infineon’s Adam White on 800 VDC, Dresden, and 300-mm Wide Bandgap

Description

During Electronica 2026, Infineon’s Adam White, Division President of Power Systems, covers moving 800 VDC data-center systems–including solid-state transformers (SSTs), solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs), and more–from lab to customers. He notes, in particular, a strong pipeline of customers leveraging Infineon power semiconductors for SSTs and the recent SSCB collaboration with Siemens–a finished product that is ready for deployment. 

White points out that DC protection solutions, like SSCBs, are still relatively nascent. And, while there are some solutions starting to be installed, there probably still needs to be industry alignment around standards and regulations to reach the “tipping point” required to see more widespread deployment. 

He continues by discussing some of Infineon’s recent efforts aimed at meeting the influx of power semiconductor demand due to AI: the new Dresden fab, investment in MV 300-mm GaN high-volume manufacturing, and a recent breakthrough 300-mm SiC with functional power devices. 

“I’ve been in power for 30 years now, and honestly, I’ve not seen the ramps and customer pull like what we’re seeing right now,” states White. 

He calls power and analog-mixed-signal (AMS) focused Dresden fab the “world’s largest 300-mm shells with a clean room,” stating that engineering is working around the clock to install equipment and run customer qualifications.

On GaN, he references the recent €1.1 billion investment in 300-mm GaN in the Villach fab with the aim of high-volume manufacturing. White states: “They [Infineon] have now proven that 300-mm GaN is capable for mid-voltage, and low voltage will look to ramp moving forward,” implying that 300-mm MV GaN is the first focus for high-volume manufacturing and 300-mm LV GaN development will likely follow. According to Infineon, production is scheduled to start by the end of 2027. 

“We need these technologies to go to 12-inch, because we will need the capacity to serve the customer base,” says White. Larger wafers mean more power devices in each production cycle. 

On the recent 300-mm SiC with functional power devices, White calls it a world first. “We get to know our engineers so well. When they walk in and present this information to us within Infineon, we know when they’ve got something, and they seem highly confident that this technology is going to work and scale for the industry,” states White. He notes some of the technical obstacles to overcome, including thin epi, wafer handling, and yield; however, more information beyond that could not be shared in the interest of keeping the IP and know-how in-house.   

Transcript

AS: Thank you so much for meeting me today, Adam. How’s the show been so far?

AW: It’s been absolutely fantastic. It’s great to see all the customers. We’ve been overwhelmed with the meetings and the schedules. And of course, at Infineon, we’re demonstrating our latest technologies in software-defined vehicles. We’ve got humanoids and robotics, and then, of course, powering AI from grid to core.

AS: There’s so much talk about data centers. Has anything really stood out for you this year at electronica? Anything that really captured your attention?

AW: Yes. I think the industry is now beginning to prepare the infrastructure needed to power these data centers. And we are now taking our lab experiments to hardware, to the customers, related to 800 VDC. So that topic is, of course, hot on the agendas of a lot of our customers. And especially in Europe, we’ve got a lot of the ecosystem here as well.

AS: What key progress are you seeing toward the 800 VDC data center architecture? What’s accelerating things? What stands out to you the most?

AW: First of all, I would say the area of the solid-state transformer. Here we are now beginning to ship some of our modules in EasyPACK packages, and we’ve got a value proposition in our 3.3 kV silicon carbide (SiC) technology. We have a strong pipeline of customers looking to launch solid-state transformers, and I must stress, for infrastructure, for non-AI as well as AI. For us, this is obviously a good tipping point for the industry, so that side of it has been amazing.

And then, of course, the solid-state circuit breakers. Our CEO, Jochen Hanebeck, showed on Tuesday morning the first one with Siemens, to go out with the solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) as well. So again, really exciting times. As I alluded to before, we’re now beginning to go into the industry with these technologies.

AS: With all the progress that has been made, what could potentially slow down 800 VDC data center adoption? Could it be standards, vendor alignment, safety? From where you stand at Infineon, what worries you the most?

AW: I think you’ve just perfectly articulated that. Honestly, it’s working with the industry, right? This isn’t just an Infineon topic. It really is an ecosystem topic to make 800 VDC a reality. The value proposition is very evident. I don’t believe any of the partners we’re working with are saying no.

The reality, though, is that we’ve got to get the standardization in place, and we’ve got to make sure it works from the protection side. AC protection is very different from DC protection. So that’s a topic we are looking into, making sure we’ve got all of the technologies and solutions with our partners.

So with this topic, I think it’s not a question of if, just when. And as I mentioned, we’re now beginning to ship our solutions, which I know are being installed in the industry at the moment. So I believe it’s the first step. Then, as regulations and standardization get into place, I think there’ll be more of a tipping point. But then we have to be ready as an industry to supply the product-mix change from AC to DC technologies as well.

AS: Thank you. Speaking of potential setbacks: from what I understand, supply meeting demand for power semiconductors has been difficult, especially in the AI data center era. I understand Infineon opened the Dresden fab for that reason, and that it’s currently largely empty but set to ramp. Could you talk about that ramp? What is it going to look like?

AW: Absolutely. First, on the three technologies: at Infineon, we’re very happy to be mastering all three, silicon, SiC, and gallium nitride (GaN). The great news is we’ve made some wonderful announcements over the last few days related to 300-mm GaN, where we’ve put a significant investment into Villach over the next few years. On top of that, we’ve announced 300 mm SiC with functional, working devices, and from our understanding, it’s one of the first in the world to do that. And then, of course, there’s our incredible silicon technology on the 12-inch lines.

Dresden is a facility that can do power and analog mixed-signal. We opened that facility in July. It is one of the world’s largest 300-mm shells with a clean room, and we now have a great opportunity to ramp it. Our teams are working day and night to get the equipment in and to get all of the qualifications with the customers going. And the great news is that Infineon can then scale into that facility.

So we’re ready. We’re working with the who’s who of the industry to secure supply, because they’re coming to Infineon to say, “Look, Infineon, the technology speaks for itself; the quality and robustness speak for themselves.” And of course, we now need to grow the capacity. We are one of the very few who’ve got that level of capacity in areas such as MOSFETs, for example, as well as analog mixed-signal.

So it’s exciting times. But wow, I’ve never seen anything quite like this. I’ve been in power for 30 years now, and honestly, I’ve not seen the ramps and customer pull like what we’re seeing right now.

AS: Let’s talk a little more about 300 mm SiC. It’s unusual to have 300 mm SiC power devices, as you just said. What are the difficulties there, and what did Infineon have to do to accomplish this innovation?

AW: There are two barriers I’d like to talk about within wide bandgap. Our engineers, honestly, chapeau to them. Incredibly capable, talented engineers. They have now proven that 300 mm GaN is capable for mid-voltage, and low voltage will look to ramp moving forward, per our recent announcements. And then our engineers have been working on the incredible world first: 300 mm SiC with functional, working devices. This is key.

The barriers to entry are, of course, in the manufacturing processes. It’s in the epi, the thin epi, how you do that and how you handle the wafer. And ultimately, you also need to make sure you get the right yield from the wafers. So there’s a lot of IP and know-how there that, logically, we’re keeping in-house at the moment.

But we get to know our engineers so well. When they walk in and present this information to us within Infineon, we know when they’ve got something, and they seem highly confident that this technology is going to work and scale for the industry. And for me, whether it’s on the GaN side or the SiC side, we need these technologies to go to 12-inch, because we will need the capacity to serve the customer base.

AS: Thank you so much for your time, Adam. I really appreciate it.

AW: Thank you very much. Enjoy yourself, and do visit our booth to see our latest innovations.

AS: For sure. Thank you so much.

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