Inventions in the field of microelectronics make our society more digital and often also more liveable. Global competition in this sector is intensive and the need for investment is very high. In late 2018, the European Commission approved Europe’s first ‘Important Project of Common European Interest’ (IPCEI), which will focus on microelectronics, opening the door for Germany, France, Italy and the UK to provide government funding totalling €1.75 billion. This will be used to support the development of new microelectronic products through to their first industrial deployment across industries and national borders in Europe.
The project will strengthen the semiconductor expertise in the EU and in Germany. The largest sum of €1 billion will be awarded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to approximately 20 German companies, who will for their part invest several billion euros in research and development.
IPCEI brings together various aspects of the broad field of microelectronics: chip manufacture, hardware design, process know-how, foundry expertise, production plants and downsteam applications in a wide range of sectors. These include, for example, medical technology, the automotive industry, mechanical and plant engineering, artificial intelligence and many others.
The technological expertise that the 29 European companies involved (both SMEs and large corporations) will generate through IPCEI will be spread throughout Europe far beyond the four member states behind the project, benefiting as many European countries as possible.
As a competent partner to the BMWi, we will support the project management of this European funding initiative with an interdisciplinary team.
