A lot is happening in and around the Brainport region in the field of the semiconductor sector: from machine building and integrated photonics to chip design and advanced test and pilot facilities. With the official opening of the ChipNL Competence Centre (ChipNL CC) on Wednesday, October 29, developments within this sector are expected to accelerate. The centre highlights what already exists, connects where it can, and helps entrepreneurs move more quickly from idea to application.
The global demand for chips is growing rapidly and with the rise of AI that demand only increases further. Although we in Europe occupy a unique position in the semiconductor sector, for example with the presence of ASML, we are also heavily dependent on countries outside the EU. The war in Ukraine, and also the trade war with the United States, has made that increasingly clear. Therefore it is important that we as Europe strengthen our role in semiconductors. For that reason, over the past year one or more Chip Competence Centres have been established in every EU member state.
Demand-driven acceleration
Speaking is Elly Zwartkruis, the director of ChipNL CC, the Dutch branch of such a Chip Competence Centre. "My task is to increase the share of the Netherlands and thus Europe in the global semiconductor sector through our centre. We do this by accelerating in a demand-driven way: we collect concrete questions from entrepreneurs, hook up the right expertise and ensure that it pays off to develop, test and scale up here."
ChipNL CC acts as an accessible point of contact. Elly: "Entrepreneurs with a chip-related issue, whether it concerns design or validation, can turn to us. We then ensure that they are helped quickly. This can take the form of providing tools or software, but also by connecting entrepreneurs with parties that can co-design or test, or by facilitating pilot lines or labs. Finally, we point out subsidy and financing schemes." In addition to entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions and educational institutes are also welcome to get in touch.
Building bridges
ChipNL CC's team consists of about twenty colleagues spread across the Netherlands, says Elly,
‘we werken landelijk. Naast de Brainportregio, waar een grote concentratie aan semiconbedrijven te vinden is, zijn er ook in de regio’s Nijmegen/Twente, Delft en Groningen clusters van indrukwekkende en innovatieve bedrijven actief in de semiconsector’. Het is aan ons als ChipNL CC om bruggen te bouwen tussen deze complementaire ecosystemen. Door krachten te bundelen en kennis uit te wisselen ontstaat versnelling. En dat is precies waarvoor wij in het leven zijn geroepen.’
Collaboration is active not only within the Netherlands, but also among the European Chip Competence Centres. ‘The value chain is complex and investments are substantial. Preventing duplicate work, smartly specializing by region and at the same time training lots of new talent: that requires sharp choices and cooperation across borders. We are pioneering and learning from one another. Each EU member state has been assessed to identify where opportunities exist to make a difference from a European perspective. For the Netherlands, opportunities include integrated photonics and innovative chip design, alongside maintaining machine manufacturing. Because in the past we did not fully appreciate how hard it is to retain your position.’
Smart collaboration
From Wednesday, entrepreneurs, startups, scale-ups, educational institutions and larger industry partners can turn to ChipNL CC. ‘The Netherlands, and thereby Europe, truly has gold in its hands,’ Elly concludes.
Source: Brainport Eindhoven