Only a few weeks ago, European Commissioner Thierry Breton emphasized that Europe had to strive to manufacture and design its own chips, including the latest generation ones. And it seems that in the EU they have picked up the gauntlet and have gone from words to deeds, with the announcement that they will allocate up to 8,100 million euros in public funds for the development of communications technologies and microelectronics.
This financing, agreed upon by 14 of the EU member countries, is considered an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI), according to the regulations of the region, which allows its member states to create a pool of common resources, and cooperate cross-border. The innovations that come out of this funding project will be shared by the EU member states.
This financing project, the largest package approved by the EU for an IPCEI so far, will lead 56 companies from all over the EU, of all sizes, to develop a total of 68 projects, as indicated Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the EU.
Vestager has also highlighted that it is expected that, from the announced public financing, “another 13,700 million euros of private investments are released. This will take the total investment in the project to exceed 21,000 million euros«.
Among the companies that will participate in this financing project are Bosch, STMicroelectronics, GlobalFoundries, Orange and Continental Automotive. Within the IPCEI is the European Chip Law, which is expected to help support research, development and innovation. This has been pointed out by Vestager, who has also mentioned that said law will help cover the gap that goes from research to production, through the development of design facilities and the start-up of pilot lines.
On the other hand, as a direct result of the approved financing, according to EU estimates some 8,700 qualified jobs will be created. Of course, the first products developed as a result of the financing are not expected to be available before 2025.
The Vice President of the EU has also indicated that those responsible for this IPCEI will ensure that the money committed will be invested prudently, and that the aid that will be granted «it will be limited to the amount necessary for the project to go ahead. In addition, the large beneficiaries will return part of the aid received if their projects end up being more profitable than expected.«.
