Dutch to invest €100 million into innovative chipmaking technology

Dutch to invest €100 million into innovative chipmaking technology | INFBusiness.com

The Eindhoven-based chip plant Smart Photonics, specialising in producing photonic chips, will get a €100 million investment from a consortium of the Dutch government, banks and several semiconductor-producing companies, the group announced on Wednesday.

The announcement comes just a day after the European Parliament greenlighted the long-discussed EU Chips Act, which aims to fortify the European semiconductor industry by investing in research and development as well as so-called ‘mega-fabs’, which contribute to supply chain resilience.

“We believe in the Netherlands as a leading international hub for the development of the fast-growing integrated photonics industry,” outgoing Economic Minister Micky Adriaansens (VVD/Renew) said in a press release.

“For the prosperity and economic growth of the future and to maintain our competitiveness, it is necessary that we develop innovative key technologies like integrated photonics within the European Union,” she added.

The investment seeks to help the company “extend its manufacturing capabilities”, as well as “accelerate the development of the company’s photonic integrated chip technology platforms”, the press release reads.

Photonic chips are innovative insofar as they transmit information via light rather than electricity, making them faster and more environmentally friendly than conventional chips.

The Dutch government is set to contribute roughly €60 million in public funding to the investment while leading semiconductor companies (including ASML) and Dutch financial institutions will provide the remaining €40 million.

Smart Photonics CEO Johan Veenstra stated that he is “very pleased” with the new investment, adding that “with this round of funding, we receive strong support from the Dutch ecosystem including strategic lenders and financial institutions in our ambition to become the globally leading foundry for Photonic Integrated Chips (PICs)”.

Cold chip war

The investment comes as the EU seeks to reduce economic dependencies and strategic bottlenecks towards third countries, including semiconductors, which are crucial to the bloc’s transition towards green technologies.

The Netherlands recently made headlines by introducing additional export restrictions for chipmaking technology towards third countries under pressure from the US.

China, while not explicitly mentioned, is widely believed to be the target of the newly introduced restrictions, which, in turn, led the country to introduce export restrictions of its own on gallium and germanium – two metals widely used in the manufacturing of semiconductors and electric vehicles.

Back in 2020, the government had already provided a cash injection of €20 million to Smart Photonics to prevent Chinese investors from taking over the company.

(Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com)

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Dutch to invest €100 million into innovative chipmaking technology | INFBusiness.com

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