Water technology company Gradiant has finished supplying the critical water treatment infrastructure for a large semiconductor plant in Dresden, part of an expansion within Silicon Saxony, Europe’s main chip manufacturing hub. The project, backed by roughly €5 billion in investment and about €1 billion in public funding through the European Chips Act and the IPCEI scheme, will double output at the site.
The plant, designed for 300 millimeter wafers, will produce power semiconductors along with analog and mixed signal components used in AI data centers, electric vehicles, renewable energy and power grid equipment.
Water plays a central role in wafer fabrication, since even minimal impurities can lower manufacturing yields. Gradiant’s ultrapure water systems are built to meet the tight purity and reliability standards that chipmaking demands, while its rinse water recovery units allow water from certain production steps to be captured and reused elsewhere in the plant.
The facility relies on industrial water rather than drinking water for its processes, and internal recycling is expected to push the site’s water recycling rate to as much as 45% by 2033.
Gradiant said it completed its portion of the work three months ahead of schedule, a result it attributed to close coordination with the client and other project partners.
“Semiconductors are the foundation of the AI economy, but their potential is ultimately constrained by the availability of water,” said Prakash Govindan, Gradiant’s CEO, adding that the company has spent over a decade developing the expertise needed to give manufacturers “the purity, reliability, and water efficiency required for the next era of technology.”
The Dresden project underscores a broader pattern in the semiconductor sector, where water supply and recycling capacity are becoming as important to expansion plans as funding and land availability.
