On 8 June 2023, the European Commission has approved the IPCEI in microelectronics and communication technologies (IPCEI ME/CT).
The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI’) to support research, innovation and the first industrial deployment of microelectronics and communication technologies across the value chain.
As underlined by Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal market “This latest IPCEI is yet another demonstration of the EU Chips Act already triggering considerable public and private investment across the European semiconductor value chain: from materials to design, from equipment to advanced packaging”. While comparing the 1st IPCEI in Microelectronics and this IPCEI in microelectronics and communication technologies, Thierry Breton added that “It is a major step forward, in particular compared to the previous IPCEI on microelectronics which already involved 32 participants from 4 Member States.”
Involved Countries and Budget
14 Member States – Austria, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain- will provide up to €8.1 billion in public funding, which is expected to unlock additional €13.7 billion in private investments.
Structure and projects
The IPCEI involves 68 projects from 56 companies. These direct participants will closely cooperate through more than 180 envisaged cross-border collaborations.
All 68 projects part of the IPCEI are highly ambitious, as they aim at developing technologies that go beyond what the market currently offers and will allow major improvements, notably in the areas of sensors, high performance processors, microprocessors including artificial intelligence, actuators and communication means for secure data exchange.
IPCEI ME/CT ecosystem
The 68 projects are part of the wider IPCEI ME/CT ecosystem involving over 30 associated participants, including universities, research organisations and companies located in five additional EU Member States (Belgium, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, and Slovenia) and Norway.
In addition, there are around 600 indirect partners which are companies or organisations that hold collaboration agreements with one or more direct participants of IPCEI ME/CT and that can therefore benefit from the various dissemination activities.
Several Member States (Austria, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Spain) included their participation in the IPCEI ME/CT in their Recovery and Resilience Plans.
See the full press release here.