Saturday, 22 August 2026
PORR has been appointed to design and construct a new semiconductor production facility for X-FAB in Erfurt, Germany, as the chip manufacturer expands its capacity for microsystems and advanced semiconductor applications.
The project, known as Fab4Micro, will include approximately 3,500 sqm of cleanroom production space, an adjoining office building and connections to X-FAB’s existing Erfurt operations. Construction is scheduled to run from July 2026 until July 2028.
The new facility will be used to manufacture microelectromechanical systems, known as MEMS, together with heterogeneously integrated systems at wafer level. These technologies have applications across sectors including automotive manufacturing, medical technology and industrial equipment.
PORR will be responsible for both planning and construction of the facility. The contractor said semiconductor manufacturing buildings require particularly demanding technical specifications, including protection of production equipment from external vibrations, high levels of operational reliability and tightly coordinated construction schedules.
“The market for semiconductor chips continues to grow, driven by artificial intelligence as well as future technologies such as autonomous driving. This is also generating growth for us because demand for cleanrooms is increasing,” said PORR CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss.
Cleanroom construction has become an increasingly important segment of high-technology industrial development as Europe seeks to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity. According to PORR, the European Chips Act has helped mobilise more than EUR 52 billion of public and private investment. The company also cited SEMI’s World Fab Forecast, which projects global spending on semiconductor fabrication equipment to increase by 9% to USD 166 billion by 2027.
The technical requirements of semiconductor plants are also becoming more demanding as chip structures become smaller and manufacturing processes more complex. Production areas need to minimise vibrations that could interfere with sensitive equipment, while systems must be designed for continuous operation.
“Cleanrooms place very special demands on planning and construction,” Strauss said. “They must be virtually vibration-free. They need to be built solidly so that, for example, vibrations from road traffic do not reach the production machinery.”
Energy performance is another increasingly important element of semiconductor facility design. PORR said heat recovery systems that reuse waste heat and photovoltaic installations are becoming standard components as manufacturers seek to reduce the energy intensity of production facilities.
“The requirements are constantly increasing,” Strauss added, pointing to increasingly complex chip structures alongside higher expectations for energy efficiency.
PORR has developed cleanrooms for semiconductor and biotechnology companies over several decades and says it has delivered several hundred thousand square metres of this type of specialist production space. Its services extend from design and construction through to equipment connections and commissioning. Previous clients include Infineon Technologies, ams OSRAM and Bayer.
The Fab4Micro project is being supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy following a decision by the Bundestag, together with the Thuringian Ministry for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Areas under the European Chips Act framework.
The Erfurt investment comes as semiconductor manufacturing becomes an increasingly important component of Europe’s industrial and technology strategy. For the construction sector, the expansion is also creating a specialised development market for technically complex manufacturing facilities, particularly cleanrooms capable of meeting increasingly demanding requirements for vibration control, energy efficiency, reliability and future automation.
