- The company will launch in Vigo (Pontevedra) a plant dedicated to the manufacture of photonic integrated circuits and wafers of different materials, with no or minimal environmental impact
- The objective of the investment is to build a photonic ecosystem that meets the high demand in the European market, by offering a theoretical capacity of 20,000 wafers per year, and to create about 200 high-value direct jobs, in addition to 550 indirect jobs
- The operation contributes to the strategic autonomy of Spain and Europe, and is a commitment to innovation to meet needs in constantly evolving sectors such as automotive, security, communications, quantum computing, consumer electronics or medicine.
Madrid, June 17, 2025.- The Council of Ministers has authorized the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Public Service to participate, through the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), in the Galician company of integrated photonics Sparc, with a financial injection of 17.2 million euros.
With this public investment, the technological ecosystem of semiconductors in Spain is strengthened, since the company will launch a plant in Vigo (Pontevedra) dedicated to the manufacture of photonic integrated circuits and wafers of Fosfuro de Indio (InP), Arseniuro de Galio (GaAs) and Nitruro de Galio (GaN), with no or minimal environmental impact.
The operation contributes to the strategic autonomy of Spain and Europe, and is a commitment to innovation to meet needs in constantly evolving sectors such as automotive, security, communications, quantum computing, consumer electronics or medicine.
Today, Europe accounts for less than 10% of the world’s semiconductor production capacity. Sparc’s plant will cover part of the production deficit in Europe, and will contribute to the European Chips Act’s goal of reaching a 20% production quota by 2030.
Photonic semiconductors
The market for photonic circuits is constantly growing. It is estimated that the wafer industry, the basis for the manufacture of microchips and which until now is dominated by silicon, will move towards other photonic semiconductors that offer greater bandwidth and therefore have the capacity to process and transfer greater volume of data. They also represent an impulse to miniaturize the chips and the final components, and have a lower energy consumption.
Sparc was born in 2022 as a start up specialized in the mass production of integrated circuits for customers who have their own designs and know the manufacturing process.
The aim of the investment is to build a photonic ecosystem in Vigo that meets the high demand in the European market, by offering a theoretical capacity of 20,000 wafers per year, and to create about 200 high-value direct jobs, in addition to 550 indirect jobs.
The contribution of 17.2 million euros, which represents a 43.9% increase in the company’s capital, together with strategic partners such as the technological giant Indra, the company Vigo Activa and the consortium of the Zona Franca, will provide a great impact in talent retention, cutting-edge use of advanced technology and development of the SME fabric in Spain.
Investment in the framework of the PERTE CHIP
The operation is carried out with the co-investment model of the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation, betting on public-private collaboration in strategic sectors such as advanced technologies.
SETT’s investment is part of the PERTE Chip, which aims to strengthen the design and production capabilities of the microelectronics and semiconductor industry in Spain. The execution of the PERTE Chip fund, foreseen by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, is among the functions of the SETT, which, in addition, manages two more financial instruments to enhance the technological business ecosystem: Next Tech, dedicated to disruptive technologies, and Spain Audiovisual Hub, which drives the digitization of the audiovisual sector.