GlobalFoundries & Qualinx's EU Semiconductor Manufacturing

US headquartered GlobalFoundries and Netherlands based Qualinx announced the successful completion of the first fully European-based, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow at GlobalFoundries’ fab in Dresden, Germany. 

Dresden is Europe’s largest hub for semiconductor manufacturing; it is known as ‘Silicon Saxony’ and considered Europe's most successful microelectronics cluster.

Multiple semiconductor manufacturing facilities are set to open in Dresden over the next few years, as the EU has funnelled billions into securing a stable supply of European made chips, which it sees as essential to its technological sovereignty. 

The fab in Dresden

The fab is building chips that GlobalFoundries describe as ‘security critical’ for aerospace, defence and critical infrastructure. 

Dr. Manfred Horstmann, Senior Vice President and General Manager at GlobalFoundries, says: “We are demonstrating that Europe can rely on a secure, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow that meets the highest requirements of aerospace and defence. 

“Our partnership with Qualinx marks the first operational milestone: it shows that complex, security-relevant ASIC designs for aerospace, defence, and critical infrastructure can already be industrialized today using a fully European, trusted manufacturing path.”

The fab is co-funded by the European Chips Act to the tune of EU€495m (US$574.3m). In establishing its European sovereign manufacturing flow, GlobalFoundries is consolidating every step of the production process, from design intake and mask services to wafer manufacturing, within the EU.

GlobalFoundries says in a press release that the tape out realised with Qualinx represents the first operational milestone on the path toward a fully automated trusted European flow, which GF aims to establish in Dresden by the end of 2026.

Europe’s US$80bn investment in chips

The global semiconductor market reached US$796 billion in 2025, following record growth driven by demand for data centres, artificial intelligence systems and advanced logic and memory chips, according to data from the European Commission. 

The EU is investing heavily in the sector to try and secure its future technological sovereignty using the European Chips Act. 

According to Semi, a market intelligence group for semiconductors, The European Chips Act has catalysed a total of EU€69bn (US$80bn) in public and private investments powering research and manufacturing in semiconductors across Europe. 

Qualinx and the fab

In GlobalFoundries partnership with Qualinx, the Netherlands based deep-tech company served as the launch customer with a sophisticated Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) SoC design for secure Positioning, Navigation and Timing applications (PNT). The QLX3xx design targets sovereign GNSS-based PNT solutions for aerospace, defence and critical infrastructure

“This first secure product demonstrates that a fully European manufacturing path – from mask services to wafer production – is already a reality today,” says Tom Trill, CEO of Qualinx. 

“Together with GlobalFoundries, we’ve optimised our Digital RF technology on GF’s FDX with a secure end-to-end flow, culminating in the launch of our ultra-low-power reconfigurable Global Navigation Satellite System SoC and Analog Front End. This milestone underscores our ability to deliver trusted, energy-efficient solutions while maintaining full control over IP, data and the supply chain within Europe.”

Silicon Saxony

Dresden is at the centre of Europe's plans for building a chip supply ecosystem. 

Infineon is also preparing to open its second semiconductor manufacturing facility a ‘Smart Power Fab’ on July 2 2026, according to a recent report from Bloomberg.

With the new fab, Infineon in Dresden will be one of the largest semiconductor production sites in Europe. The project was backed by a a EU€920mn (US$1bn) German aid measure.

ESMC, a joint venture between TSMC, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, is also set to manufacture chips in the German city starting 2027. The project was backed by a EU€5 bn (US$5.8bn) state aid measure.