European pilot line representatives meet in Brussels
The European Commission has hosted an event bringing together representatives of the five European pilot lines, including PIXEurope, that are being launched under the EU Chips Joint Undertaking
The European Commission has hosted a ceremonial event to mark the launch of the first five pilot lines under the Chips Joint Undertaking initiative. The event brought together executive vice-president of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen, leading representatives from the research and technology organisations driving the pilot lines, the executive director of the Chips Joint Undertaking and the representatives of the different pilot lines from the member states.
Representatives included Valerio Pruneri from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), who is director of the pilot line PIXEurope, Luc Van den hove, CEO of imec and director of the pilot line NanoIC, François Jacq from CEA-Leti, who is director of the pilot line FAMES, Albert Heuberger from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, representing the pilot line APECS, and Stefano Fabris from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, representing the pilot line WBG (Wide Band Gap).
The event took place on 16 January 2025, at the European Commission headquarters in Berlaymont, Brussels. The celebration marked the launch of the first five European pilot lines which aim to bridge the gap between research innovation and industrial-scale manufacturing, as well as position Europe as a prosperous region and leading ecosystem for the chips and semiconductor industry, in alignment with the European Chips Act's strategy.
The pilot lines are supported by a total of €3.7 billion in funding, comprising contributions from the European Union through the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes, as well as commensurate investments from participating member states. Focusing on five key areas, these lines will act as collaborative hubs for research institutions, academia, and industry. They aim to provide open access to state-of-the-art research facilities, accelerating experimentation, process development, and validation of cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. This effort is designed to foster technological capacity, strengthen Europe’s industrial competitiveness, and drive innovation across diverse sectors.
Image credit: European Commission
