A new electrolysis plant for the production of green hydrogen has gone into operation at Infineon’s site in Villach, Austria. The plant is operated by Linde and will now supply the entire semiconductor production with hydrogen from renewable energy sources around the clock. Infineon requires ultra-pure hydrogen as a process gas for chip manufacturing.
The electricity required for electrolysis comes exclusively from certified green power sources. The plant is based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology and produces around 290 tonnes of ultra-pure hydrogen per year with a purity level of 99.999999 percent. Until now, the required hydrogen was delivered by truck from Germany and produced from natural gas. Local production eliminates these transports, thereby reducing CO2 emissions in the supply chain.
“With the electrolysis plant, we are securing our hydrogen supply for the future and minimizing delivery dependencies,” says Thomas Reisinger, Chief Operations Officer at Infineon Technologies Austria. “And we are replacing the previous hydrogen from fossil sources with green hydrogen.”
Linde was responsible for the planning, construction and operation of the plant. Richard Hagenfeldt, Managing Director of Linde Electronics, emphasizes: “With this PEM electrolysis plant, we are setting a milestone for industrial processes and demonstrating how innovative technology and strong partnerships can drive decarbonization.”
The implementation took place as part of the funded research project “H2Pioneer”. In addition to Linde and Infineon, the project partners include the energy utility Verbund as well as the research institutions HyCentA Research, the Energy Institute at Johannes Kepler University Linz, and the flagship region WIVA P&G. The project is funded by the Climate and Energy Fund as part of the RTI initiative “Flagship Region Energy” with resources from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action.
Infineon Technologies Austria is a subsidiary of the semiconductor group Infineon Technologies. The company employs nearly 6,000 people in Austria and generated revenues of €4.8 billion in fiscal year 2024.
