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From George Moeritz
Dresden. Additional jobs through microchips and software: the industry association Silicon Saxony predicts that its member companies in Saxony will grow even faster in the coming years than previously predicted. Last year, the association announced that it would have around 100,000 employees by 2030. On Tuesday, Managing Director Frank Bösenberg said at the Silicon Saxony Day conference that this figure would be exceeded.
The additional microchip factories announced will contribute to faster growth: Infineon is currently expanding its Dresden factory by around 1,000 jobs. Around 2,000 are to be created at ESMC European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, whose largest investor is the Taiwanese group TSMC.
According to the association, the industry grew faster last year than in previous years: by 6.4 percent to 81,000 employees. Silicon Saxony not only includes microchip factories, but also the software and communications industry. The software industry in Saxony grew by two percent to 40,000 employees.
Silicon Saxony is committed to tolerance and openness
Bösenberg said: "Silicon Saxony is a magnet for skilled workers." The demand is being met, also with the help of international specialists. When asked about the latest election results, association president Dirk Röhrborn said that he was concerned about the shift to the right in Europe and in the region. However, the industry will "not be deterred" and will stand up for tolerance and openness. People from all over the world who wanted to live and work here would be welcomed. The software and semiconductor industries are pioneers in integration. Free trade is also important for economic development.
The industry association expected around 750 participants to attend its conference on the conference floor of Dresden Airport. ESMC was welcomed as member number 555 of Silicon Saxony. Exhibition stands provided information about technology offerings for the chip industry, but also about personnel: the Dresden Skilled Workers Alliance presented the "Hello India" initiative. Expert Swati Pant said that she was looking for suitable applicants on behalf of Saxon companies. Six had come to Dresden from "Powerhouse India" as a result.
Meanwhile, the US company Intel is planning its announced microchip factory in Magdeburg as well as a plant for further processing in Wroclaw in Poland. A new study by the VDI/VDE Innovation and Technology Institute recommends that the Magdeburg region establish a cluster like Silicon Saxony. This cluster could gradually develop into a cross-industry cluster, for example for new materials, manufacturing technologies, the circular economy or medical and biotechnology. Some of these areas have their own associations in Saxony. Magdeburg will attract commuters from Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, as well as those from the automotive industry. The efficient high-speed rail network extends the catchment area as far as Hanover or Berlin when it comes to academic specialists.
Artificial intelligence: Singapore is working on rules
The association announced Silicon Saxony last year, the workforce in its area would grow to 100,000 people by 2030. At that time, the software industry was growing faster than others: In 2022, its workforce in Saxony increased by 7.6 percent to 35,000 employees, while 4.2 percent was calculated for the industries in Silicon Saxony as a whole.
The Silicon Saxony Day at Dresden Airport offers something for everyone, from an English lecture to a colorful Lego game: If you want to find out more about the future of artificial intelligence, Nigel Toon is the right person for you. The Brit from Bristol will explain to engineers and students from Saxony's high-tech industries on Tuesday that software doesn't have it any easier than humans when it comes to making decisions. Artificial intelligence only works with a good understanding of its environment, says Toon.
The founder of the high-tech company Graphcore has been invited to the podium as the first speaker by Silicon Saxony e. V., the association of Saxon microchip, software and communications companies. Toon is also allowed to answer the audience's question on what he thinks of the lack of regulation in artificial intelligence. The expert says that, in his opinion, Singapore is currently taking the best approach: Guidelines are developed, then discussed with the companies, then laws are made. In the European Union, on the other hand, he believes that even small companies have to cope with regulations from Brussels. Toon does not talk about the influence of trade associations.
His lecture is one of more than 80 on six themed islands. The audience, sometimes in suits, sometimes sporty with rucksacks, grab their headphones. This is because the speakers on the islands cannot otherwise be heard and the presentations should not overlap. The technology works.
Lego competition and programming for pupils
Artur Willert and Anton Schöne, on the other hand, can provide information about their technology without a microphone: The two students are standing at a stand near the entrance with movable Lego constructions. They have already taken part in research and robotics competitions and are therefore part of the target group of companies in Silicon Saxony - the potential young talent that is expected to increase the workforce in Saxony's high-tech industries to more than 100,000 employees by 2030. 16-year-old Artur has already completed an internship at automation specialist Fabmatics in Dresden and found it "really cool". Twelve-year-old Anton is particularly interested in trains at the moment, but can also imagine working in a different field of technology.
The industry developers from Silicon Saxony will be happy to hear it - they also support early technology education with the Calliope programming device for elementary school via the Saxon Youth Education Association. Meanwhile, the software and hardware companies are looking for adult applicants worldwide. When asked, industry president Dirk Röhrborn praised the progress made in the admission of skilled workers from overseas. "We are hearing about improvements from the companies, the companies are surprised," says Röhrborn, himself head of the software company Communardo in Dresden. However, the slow visa procedures abroad are still a bottleneck, adds Frank Bösenberg, Managing Director of the association.
Every workplace in a chip factory
Röhrborn says that the planned new chip factories mark the beginning of a new era for Silicon Saxony. More companies would find their way to Saxony in order to benefit from the research density, production and expertise of the many medium-sized companies. The association stands by its forecast that for every additional job in a chip factory, three more will be created at suppliers in the region and another six or seven in the supply industry.
Eike-Christian Spitzner, Head of Division at VDI/VDE Innovation and Technology, and his colleagues have calculated the economic effects of the planned Intel chip factory for Magdeburg. A good 30 billion euros will be invested there, ten billion euros of which will come from the state. After three decades at the latest, the subsidies should be balanced out because the state can expect taxes and social security contributions of 250 to 400 million euros per year. The Electronics wholesaler Avnet from the USA has now announced, to create a "high-performance distribution center" for the industry in Bernburg in Saxony-Anhalt.
Czech Republic and Poland catch up in chip industry
Magdeburg and the surrounding regions would have to create living space and expand local transportation - like Saxony for the announced new ESMC factory and the expansion at Infineon. Bösenberg points out that Prague has also been competing intensively for the Taiwanese investor. New supplier companies are also expected in the Czech Republic. In Wroclaw, Poland, Intel is investing five billion euros in a plant for the final processing of microchips. Two weeks ago, representatives from 31 European regions met in Dresden, who are involved in the industry. They want to work together.
A tour of the company stands at Silicon Saxony Day is worthwhile: the experts are happy to explain what they are working on. Ramona Fiedler from microchip manufacturer X-Fab reports that the semiconductor material gallium nitride is also increasingly being used in the Dresden chip factory. It reduces energy losses during switching and is used for antenna systems and wind turbines, for example. In the Long Night of the Sciences this Friday X-Fab will also provide information about this.
Research manager Martin Landgraf from the Fraunhofer Institute IPMS reports that the institutes in Dresden are also increasingly working on quantum computers. The researchers increasingly want to work to the same standard as industry - this has long been the case in microchip research, and Fraunhofer CNT has facilities like Globalfoundries. For the quantum computers, the researchers work with cryochambers because qubits take over the important functions instead of transistors - at very low temperatures. At Dresden Airport, on the other hand, there was a feel-good atmosphere between the information stands on Tuesday. The Silicon Saxony Day took place for the 18th time and was sponsored by the Saxony Economic Development Corporation, among others.
