EU invests €325 million in Europe's semiconductor ecosystem
The Chips Joint Undertaking has announced calls for semiconductor initiatives, and plans to establish a pilot line for PICs
The Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) has opened calls to support semiconductor research and innovation initiatives in photonics, competence centres, and a cloud-based semiconductor design platform as part of the Chips for Europe initiative under the Chips Act.
The total EU funding available for these calls is €325 million, which the Chips JU says should be topped up by additional financing from its participating states.
According to the Chips JU, this new round of calls will further support Europe's semiconductor industry by establishing a pilot line for PICs, which will be particularly important for the next generation of high-performance computers, high-speed communications and data centres.
The funding will also support the creation, roll-out and networking of “chips competence centres” in participating states. These competence centres aim to provide access to technical expertise and experimentation in semiconductors, helping companies, SMEs in particular, to improve design capabilities and develop their skills. Finally, the upcoming calls will fund a project to create a cloud-based online design platform that will allow users, particularly academia, start-ups and SMEs, to design and develop their new chips, and to help bring their designs to market.
The closing dates for industrial and research organisations to apply for funding are 17 September 2024 for the photonics pilot line, 2 October 2024 for the competence centres, and 10 October 2024 for the design platform.
