Infineon Technologies, a leading semiconductor manufacturer from Germany, has joined forces with India’s established chipmaker CDIL Semiconductors to tap into the growing business opportunities in India. The partnership aims to support India’s ambitious transition to electric mobility and renewable energy, both of which rely heavily on power semiconductors.
India, the world’s most populous nation with over 1.4 billion people, has set aggressive targets to increase electric vehicle (EV) adoption from the current 7-8% to 30% and expand non-fossil energy generation from 100GW to 500GW by 2030. To meet these goals, India needs a strong domestic ecosystem for EVs and battery storage solutions, along with high-quality and cost-effective semiconductor components. Infineon and CDIL are collaborating to address these challenges.
Under this partnership, Infineon will supply semiconductor wafers to CDIL, which will handle the packaging and assembly process at its Mohali facility in Punjab. These components will be used in a variety of sectors, including light EVs—such as electric two- and three-wheelers—and renewable energy products like solar inverters and energy storage systems.
The partnership will focus on producing MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors), which act as electronic switches controlling electricity flow in devices, from smartphones to electric vehicles. Over time, CDIL plans to expand production to include IGBTs (insulated-gate bipolar transistors), which are essential for regulating high-voltage electricity in EVs and renewable energy systems.
CDIL’s semiconductor packaging facility currently has an annual production capacity of 600 million power semiconductor units. While both companies believe this capacity is sufficient for now, CDIL is prepared to scale production if demand increases in the future.
Rather than relying on traditional silicon, the semiconductors produced will use materials like silicon carbide and gallium nitride, which offer superior heat resistance and higher power density in compact spaces. CDIL has already been working with silicon carbide for the past four years and has even exported it to countries such as China.
Although the current focus is on meeting domestic demand, Infineon’s partnership with CDIL marks its first manufacturing collaboration in India. Infineon has been active in the Indian market for some time, with a subsidiary in the country, and recently engaged with Indian government officials to explore opportunities in the power semiconductor sector.
“We believe that India is still at the beginning of an exponential growth curve, and we expect this market to accelerate significantly in the coming years as electrification and battery technologies continue to grow,” said Richard Kuncic, Senior Vice President of Infineon’s Power Systems division.
While Infineon operates major wafer manufacturing facilities in Austria, Germany, and Malaysia, the company has no immediate plans to establish a wafer manufacturing site in India. Instead, it aims to form more strategic partnerships to strengthen its presence in the Indian market.
“We are taking a measured approach to expand, partnering step by step to build a solid foundation,” Kuncic added.
