By Melike Pala
BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union (EU) on Monday launched its largest semiconductor pilot line under the European Chips Act, investing 700M euros (832M dollars) in the newly opened NanoIC facility at IMEC in Leuven, Belgium, as part of efforts to strengthen Europe's chip sovereignty.
IMEC was founded in 1984 and describes itself as the world’s largest independent research and innovation center for nanoelectronics and digital technology.
With a total investment of 2.5B euros (2.9B dollars), NanoIC has received 700M euros in EU funding and 700M euros from national and regional governments, according to a statement by the EU.
The facility will accelerate the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies critical for artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, healthcare and future 6G mobile networks.
NanoIC is the first European facility to deploy the most advanced Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine and will focus on chip technologies beyond the 2-nanometre node, marking a major technological leap for Europe's semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
Designed to operate on an open-access basis, NanoIC will allow start-ups, researchers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large companies to test new chip designs, equipment and manufacturing processes at near-industrial scale before mass production.
Hosted by Belgium-based research center IMEC, the pilot line brings together partners across Europe, including CEA-Leti (France), Fraunhofer (Germany), VTT (Finland), CSSNT (Romania) and the Tyndall National Institute (Ireland).
The initiative aims to bridge the gap between research and large-scale manufacturing, supporting Europe's industrial competitiveness while helping attract and retain skilled talent.
NanoIC is one of five pilot lines - alongside FAMES, APECS, WBG and PIXEurope - under the Chips for Europe initiative.
Together, the projects represent a combined EU and national investment of 3.7B euros (4.4B dollars) to connect Europe’s research excellence with industrial application.