Linde builds green hydrogen plant for Infineon Technologies semiconductor H2Pioneer project

Linde has signed a long-term agreement with Infineon Technologies for the on-site production and storage of high-purity green hydrogen as a part of the ‘H2Pioneer’ research project.

Linde will build, own and operate a 2 MW electrolyser plant at Infineon’s Villach site in Austria, which will produce green hydrogen using Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology from ITM Power. Linde will then purify the hydrogen to fulfil the rigorous specifications needed in Infineon’s manufacturing process. The plant can produce up to 800 kg/day of green hydrogen. The demonstration plant for the production of high-purity green hydrogen will go into operation in early 2022.

The use of this high-purity green hydrogen is part of Infineon’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at its Villach site. Infineon will use green hydrogen for the first time in its semiconductor manufacturing process.

Infineon is currently expanding its production capacity at its Villach site and investing €1.6 billion in a new high-tech chip factory for power electronics. Infineon, which receives hydrogen by truck from Germany, will then be generated directly at Infineon’s production site in Villach from renewable energy.

The H2Pioneer’ research project is an initiative of Linde, Infineon Technologies Austria and Verbund, HyCentA Research GmbH, the Energy Institute at Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz and the Wiva P&G to promote ‘Tech for Green Industry’. The project is being funded as part of the Climate and Energy Fund’s RTI initiative “Showcase Energy Region”, funded by the Ministry of Climate Protection (BMK).

Austrian Federal Minister of Climate Protection Leonore Gewessler, said, “Hydrogen from renewable energies will play an important role in achieving climate neutrality by 2040, especially in industry.”

Theresia Vogel, MD of the Climate and Energy Fund, said, “The partners involved, a strong and powerful consortium, are creating a highly innovative project that will contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gases in Austria.”

Thomas Reisinger, Board Member Operations at Infineon Technologies Austria, said, “By introducing an electrolysis system at the Infineon Villach site, we are equipping ourselves for the future by securing the essential supply of high-purity hydrogen while reducing our emissions.”

Richard Hagenfeldt, MD of Linde Electronics GmbH, said, “The long-term sustainable alignment of production is of high importance to Linde because the business success of our customers and thus our own success depend on it.”

Philipp Schautschick, Head of Engineering at Linde Electronics, added, “We see this as a significant milestone on the way to more sustainability and a low CO 2 semiconductor industry.”