Netherlands breaks ground on photonic chip pilot line
The Netherlands has taken a major step in photonic innovation with the official start of construction of the Photonic Chip Pilot Line, an industrial-scale facility hosted by TNO under the EU’s PIXEurope project. The event took place at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, bringing together leaders from industry, government, and research.
The pilot line will focus on Indium Phosphide (InP) photonic chips at 6-inch wafer scale, bridging advanced research with scalable manufacturing. The facility is designed to accelerate the development of faster, more energy-efficient photonic technologies for next-generation communications and computing.
Key figures attending the groundbreaking included Ruben Brekelmans, Minister of Defense; Vincent Karremans, Minister of Economic Affairs; Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Mayor of Eindhoven; Silvia Lenaerts, Eindhoven University of Technology; Valerio Pruneri, PIXEurope; and Johan Feenstra, SMART Photonics.
By establishing this pilot line, Europe strengthens its position in the global photonics industry, providing a platform for prototyping, testing, and scaling innovative photonic integrated circuits.
