Sustainability report

^{* In terms of the EU taxonomy regulation}

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. To stop it, we need joint and coordinated efforts from all stakeholders. This is the only way we can sustainably secure the future of future generations.

Business, science and academic research are important pillars and drivers of change. They must develop and offer sustainable innovations that replace fossil fuels. Industry should seize this opportunity, invest in sustainable technologies and align their business and operating processes ecologically. Because we have a great responsibility for the societies in which we operate and for the global community.

At AIXTRON we are aware of this responsibility and act accordingly. The topic of sustainability has two aspects for us: On the one hand, we operate energy-efficiently and climate-neutrally1 at our locations. On the other hand, we use our systems to promote the spread of particularly energy-efficient technologies and research even more sustainable solutions for the future.

This strategy is bearing fruit and is paying off on several levels:

• The year 2023 was economically very successful for AIXTRON. We achieved sales of EUR 630 million, of which 73% were taxonomy-aligned (2022: 58%). This corresponds to sales revenue of EUR 462 million, which was ecologically sustainable in the sense of the EU taxonomy (2022: EUR 271 million).
• We have launched our new G10 product family with G10-SiC, G10-AsP and G10-GaN, covering the entire spectrum in power electronics and optoelectronics. This means we are once again significantly increasing the key performance indicators for the production of particularly energy-efficient applications such as e-mobility, data transmission, renewable energy and Micro LED displays. The response from our customers shows that we have hit the nerve of the times with our technologies.
• We have started with the construction of our new innovation center, in which we are investing around EUR 100 million. Once finished, we will continue to expand our own research & development activities and work together with our suppliers and customers on the sustainable innovations of tomorrow.
• We have continued to align our operating and investment expenditure sustainably in accordance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation. The share of taxonomy-aligned operating expenses (OpEX) was 65% and our share of taxonomy-aligned capital expenditures (CapEx) was 79%.
• We maintained our high level in the MSCI rating with AA (2022: AA).

We are not only responsible for greater sustainability and society in general, but also, first and foremost, for our workforce. It forms the backbone of our success and our innovative strength in all areas. Our employees are characterized by their expertise, passion and creativity.

They maintain a special corporate culture that is based on teamwork, diversity and internationality. We employ people from 61 nations and have expanded our workforce by around 200 highly qualified colleagues in 2023. We also promote the health and social commitment of our employees, for example through the AIXTRON Virtual Run, which involves a donation to a charitable institution.

^{1 related to Scope 1 and Scope 2}

Our financial and non-financial success is based on effective and efficient corporate governance. It defines the crucial framework conditions for good corporate governance. AIXTRON has had highly developed corporate governance systems for many years, which we are constantly developing further.

With this sustainability report we provide you with an overview of our sustainability strategy and its implementation. The results clearly illustrate what we are working on today and in the future.

The Executive Board of AIXTRON SE

About this report

With this sustainability report, AIXTRON documents the ecological and social performance and the progress made in implementing its sustainability goals for the 2023 reporting year. This should make it clear to our stakeholders how ecological and social goals and measures have contributed to the company's success.

You can find the financial data and performance of AIXTRON for the 2023 financial year in our annual report.

The reporting period corresponds to the 2023 financial year, i.e. the period from January 01, 2023 to December 31, 2023.

The report covers the following locations and subsidiaries of the AIXTRON Group. These essentially include:

• AIXTRON SE, Germany
• AIXTRON Korea Co. Ltd., Korea
• AIXTRON Ltd., UK
• AIXTRON China Ltd., China
• AIXTRON Inc., USA
• AIXTRON Taiwan Co. Ltd., Taiwan
• AIXTRON K.K., Japan
• AIXTRON Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia

As of December 31, 2023, AIXTRON has one production site and one research/ development site in Herzogenrath and one in Cambridge (UK) as well as sales and service sites in the USA and Asia. The vast majority of our employees work at our location in Germany and a considerably smaller number in Great Britain. The focus of the reporting is therefore on these two locations.

Overview of the locations per country including use, size, distribution of employees and distribution of biodiverse areas by region. AIXTRON understands biodiverse areas to include green areas, meadow meadows, hedges, shrubs, areas for insect hotels, etc.

We refer here to further information e.g. on the structure and management of the company in the chapters "Fundamental information on the Group" of the current annual report of the AIXTRON Group.

Editorial note

For better readability we refer to “employees” throughout this report. That includes all genders. The same applies to similar terms such as participants, representatives, etc.

This document is an English language translation of a document in German language. In case of discrepancies, the German language document shall prevail and shall be the valid version.

 Framework and Reporting

The sustainability report is prepared in accordance with the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The table at the end of the report provides information on the assignment of the content to the requirements of the GRI framework. On our AIXTRON website under the menu item "Sustainability," you will find accompanying explanations of the information and projects presented in this report.

With the report, we primarily want to give our interest groups (stakeholders) the most comprehensive possible picture of the non-financial aspects and key figures of our business activities. Individual key figures were recorded for the first time in the 2023 reporting year and included in this report. If in individual cases, we do not have any data from previous years, it is not possible to compare these key figures with previous years. In this case, this is indicated by a corresponding note.

The requirements of the German CSR Directive Implementation Act oblige AIXTRON to publish a non-financial statement. With our separate non-financial report, we meet the requirements that arise for us from Section 315b (1-3) HGB.

All sections of text, tables, and graphics in the sustainability report that are assigned to the non-financial report are marked with an omega symbol Ω. Therefore, not all information contained in this report is also a mandatory part of the separate non- financial statement. References to information in the management report are part of the non-financial statement.

According to Section 289c (3) HGB, we are obliged to examine topics for their “double materiality”. Dual materiality requires disclosures on non-financial aspects to be made as soon as the following criteria are met:

1.  The information is necessary to understand the course of business, the business result, and the position of the company.

2.  The information makes it possible to understand how the company's business activities affect non-financial aspects.

We checked the issues identified for this double materiality. The topics that fit this definition are also marked in the report by an omega sign Ω. These topics are assigned to the respective chapters in this report. In terms of Sections 289c Paragraphs 2 and 3, 315c HGB, no “material risks” have been identified either with regard to our business activities or with regard to our business relationships, products, and services that have or will have “very likely serious negative effects”.

The non-financial information and key figures on our sustainability activities given in this report were subjected to an independent review with “limited assurance” by KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Duesseldorf (Germany) using the relevant auditing standards for sustainability reporting (ISAE 3000 Revised).

Dialogue with our stakeholders

We maintain trusting and long-term partnerships with our stakeholders. In doing so, it is important to us - just as in our company to each other - that we treat each other in a spirit of partnership, respectful and constructive. We see ourselves as part of this society. That is why we are committed to community and social projects – particularly in the region where our headquarters are located.

The key interest groups for AIXTRON are:

• Customer
• State and politics
• Employees
• Media
• Capital market participants
• Science and Research
• Delivery

The identification of the most important stakeholders and their interests are crucial for a successful stakeholder dialogue (see also the chapter on sustainable corporate management and sustainability strategy / materiality analysis). The interest groups were categorized and prioritized based on the following criteria:

• Interests of the stakeholders
• Stakeholder Influence
• Stakeholder expectations of AIXTRON
• Dependence of stakeholders on AIXTRON
• Value for AIXTRON to get in touch with this stakeholder
•  

We regularly reflect on the process for identifying the most important stakeholders and the relevant topics and adjust them where necessary.

^{Most important stakeholders, topics and forms of dialogue}