Get EU funding for your semiconductor innovation in #brnoregion

INVESTMENT IN SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND development

"Chip development and design should soon become one of the important pillars of the Czech economy. Brno is in a good starting position thanks to its high-quality technical education and high-tech companies. That is why the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster, composed of major players involved in chip research and manufacturing, was founded at the end of last year. It includes Brno University of Technology, CEITEC, TESCAN, Thermo Fisher Scientific and other top Czech universities and companies," said Anna Putnová, the City of Brno's representative for cooperation with research organisations.

The City of Brno will support the initial phase of the cluster's activities with a CZK 2 million subsidy. The aim is to gain greater independence from Chinese chip production and to make Brno an essential hub in the development of this sector. In the south of Moravia, a national competence centre for chips and semiconductors will be established, which will be part of the European network of competence centres. "These centres play a key role in the Chips for Europe initiative – the first pillar of the European Chips Act – bridging the gap between labs and companies. They will provide access to technical expertise and experimentation in the semiconductor field and help companies improve design capabilities and skills development," said Jana Drbohlavová, associate professor at the The Department of Microelectronics at the Brno University of Technology and project manager at the JIC innovation agency.
 

HOW can SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANIES use funding INSTRUMENTS?

The Chip Competence Centres will facilitate users' access to pilot lines, design platforms, and a chip fund dedicated to the specific needs of deep-tech semiconductor startups and SMEs. It consists of two thematic investment vehicles - the EIC Accelerator programme with a call for emerging semiconductor or quantum technologies (totalling €300 million over five years) and InvestEU with a semiconductor chip and technology facility (€6.5 billion).

 

Where else did the representatives of the European programmes, the Technology Centre, and the Czech ministries present these opportunities in Brno? At an informative seminar, they gave lectures on specific topics from the Horizon Europe framework programme, including clusters, the new Chips JU partnership, challenges in the European Innovation Council (EIC), and the Digital Europe programme. These are R&D opportunities addressing more efficient electronics and searching for new ideas to make them more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

In June, companies were selected to receive funding for major projects of common European interest in microelectronics and communication technologies (IPCEI Microelectronics & Communication). With their projects, these are two companies from Brno – Mycroft Mind and Codasip. The latter has already implemented several projects funded through the EIC as well. Others currently involved in some of the calls include Brno University of Technology and Thermo Fisher Scientific, developing energy-efficient gallium nitride-based chips as part of the All2GaN project.

"We are pleased that other companies have also come forward to learn about investment instruments, such as the EIC, which they often find inaccessible or too administratively demanding. A possible way is to address them together with academia. It was evident that vital existing and new connections between regional actors are being fostered in semiconductor industry activities. However, European funding is an opportunity for the whole Czech Republic and international cooperation," summarised Jana Drbohlavová, the benefits of the seminar in Brno.