The Government awards 19 million euros for research in semiconductors and development of quantum chips

●For every euro contributed by the Spanish Administration, the European Commission contributes the same amount. In addition, private companies also contribute, so the two programs will mobilize more than 60 million euros

●These awards complement others previously approved within the umbrella of the JU Chips, such as the Integrated Photonics Pilot Line, which involved a public investment of more than € 66.5 M with an impact on our territory above € 133 M and the call for competition centers that had a grant of € 8 M

●These actions are considered fundamental to guarantee the technological sovereignty of Spain and Europe in terms of chips, strengthen the industrial ecosystem, especially focused on SMEs, and ensure a high return of European funds in Spain

The Council of Ministers today approved the award of EUR 19 million within the framework of the European Union Joint Chipset (JU Chips), the EU instrument to boost the semiconductor industry in Europe, through research, innovation and chip manufacturing programmes.

On the one hand, 6.5 million euros have been approved to finance the Spanish participation in 5 Quantum Pilot Lines, whose main objective is to promote the development of quantum chips. The Chips JU will provide about 8 million euros additional for Spanish participants. In addition, the participating companies will also contribute to the project depending on the size of the company, around € 1.5 M. In total, they represent an investment of 16 million euros in our country for the development of quantum chips.

The current problem with quantum technology is that making chips is extremely difficult and expensive. These pilot lines serve to test, validate and stabilize manufacturing processes so that the chips are reliable, reproducible and have a lower failure rate. The ultimate goal is for Europe to be able to market such chips. The biggest attraction of these pilot lines is that they are open access. This means that European startups, SMEs, universities and large companies will be able to use them.

The beneficiary entities include both research bodies and companies:

R&D projects in the private sector

In addition, the Government has approved the award of more than 12.3 million euros to 36 R&D projects of Spanish private entities, from SMEs to large companies, also within the framework of the JU Chips. The funded projects address the main technological and industrial challenges in Europe, highlighting key areas such as cybersecurity, high-performance computing (HPC), sustainable manufacturing and the development of RISC-V based processors, among others.

The 36 projects will receive 12.3 M€ from Spain, 13.1 M€ from Chips JU and around 20 M€ from the contributions of the awarding companies.

These two actions complement others previously approved within the umbrella of the JU Chips, such as the Integrated Photonics Pilot Line, which involved a public investment of more than 66.5 M€ with an impact on our territory above 133 M€, and the call for “Competition Centers” with a grant of 8 million euros.