María González Veracruz announces the support of the Government to implement a center of excellence in Cybersecurity and Chips in the Region of Murcia
28/02/2024
The initiative comes from the Murcian companies Odin Solutions (spin-off of the UMU) and TProtege in collaboration with the multinational WISeKey To implement a center that designs high-performance chips in cybersecurity. After months of coordinated work, the Secretary of State announced that the project has the very advanced technical requirements to be eligible for PERTE Chip funding.
The Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, María González Veracruz, held a meeting at the University of Murcia (UMU) with its rector, José Luján, Professor Antonio Skarmeta, Professor of Information and Communications Engineering at the UMU, and representatives of two Murcian companies, José Trigueros on behalf of Odin, Francisco Martínez on behalf of TProtege, and the remote participation of Carlos Moreira of the multinational WISeKey. At the meeting, the support of the Government of Spain was transferred to a business initiative that intends to implement in the Region of Murcia a center for the design and customization of high-performance chips in cybersecurity.
During the meeting, the details of this private initiative that is forged by the companies Odin Solution (company spin-off from the University of Murcia) and TProtege, and together with the “relevant dimension” that this collaboration with the multinational company WISeKey acquires.
This collaboration between the Swiss-based holding company and the two Murcian companies aims to put at the forefront of improving Spain’s cybersecurity and microchip customization capabilities through the transfer of cybersecurity research knowledge with a high degree of innovative maturation.
Since last July, work has been coordinated between the Secretary of State and the agents involved to fit this initiative to the financial instruments of the Strategic Project for the Economic Recovery and Transformation of Microelectronics and Semiconductors of Spain (PERTE Chip).
This PERTE, which depends on the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, is the largest of the thirteen that the Government of Spain is promoting for the economic reconversion of the country. It will mobilise 12.25 billion euros until 2027 to consolidate the chip industry in search of technological sovereignty and generation of qualified employment.
The Secretary of State said that the project is well advanced in meeting the technical requirements for partial financing through the PERTE Chip. “It is great news that the Region can be at the global epicentre of cybersecurity with this initiative with the support of the Government to the global center for the design and production of microchips.”
María González Veracruz said that “it is a milestone, because it means implementing in this land a key industrial activity in the digital era in the fourth industrial revolution. It will generate numerous skilled jobs and will be able to serve as a synergy for the Region in a key sector such as technology.”
He also highlighted the role of the University of Murcia as a strategic partner of the project for its trajectory and excellence in the field of research. He also praised the work of Professor Skarmeta and his team “in the construction of this great project for the Region, with the guarantee of being currently working in an excellent way several innovation projects on cybersecurity funded directly from this Secretariat”.
For his part, the rector of the University of Murcia has celebrated “the advanced level of research of the University of Murcia in cybersecurity. It is a pride that our transfer of knowledge to the private sector will lead to such an operation. It is an opportunity to boost talent and demonstrates the importance of public-private collaboration to promote innovation and economic and social development in the Region.”
For their part, Professors Skarmeta and Zamora explained the main challenges and objectives of the project, which seeks to develop an integrated platform for the design, manufacture and verification of chips. He said that “it will allow us to offer customized and safe solutions to the needs of our customers. These benefits will have an impact on the industrial sector, public administration and citizens, facilitating access to cutting-edge technologies and improving the cybersecurity of critical systems.”
State Society for Technological Transformation (SETT)
The Secretary of State also commented on the recent announcement by the Minister for Digital Transformation and the Public Service, José Luis Escrivá, to create the State Society for Technological Transformation (SETT). It is a Public Business Entity dedicated to the management, leadership and coordination of public investments in the fields of innovation and new technologies.
He explained that the creation of the SETT It is “one more step in the ambitious process of technological transformation that Spain is leading, which will allow us to create synergies between the different initiatives in the cutting-edge technological fields, act as a unique interlocutor with the main national and international agents, public and private, and take even better advantage of the competitive advantages of the country”.
González Veracruz has pointed out that the SETT bring together under your direction existing initiatives such as the PERTE Chip, the fund NextTech (with 4 billion euros to invest in companies with a high technological innovation component) or the Audiovisual Hub fund (with 1.7 billion euros for companies in this sector).