The European Union is releasing funding for two pilot studies within the semiconductor industry. The cleanroom being built for this purpose in Finland will also be relevant for the research centers in Belgium and France.
Europe funds two pilot studies from Finland’s technical research center VTT with money from the European Chips Act. The exact amount of funding is unknown, but with the subsidy the Finnish government will provide, VTT will receive 32 million euros. This money will be used to purchase equipment for a new shared-use cleanroom. The remaining money will be used to build a pilot line to support the semiconductor manufacturing process and the new cleanroom.
Construction of the pilot studies has already begun. The additional funding will accelerate the process, with the first result expected by the end of 2026. The pilot studies should put the latest technologies to work, including the newest transistors, RF, and memory technologies.
Sharing expertise with imec
The new cleanroom, Kvanttinova, gives European companies a new location for testing and developing microelectronic components. VTT also shares the acquired knowledge with other cleanrooms based in Europe, such as imec. The collaboration allows companies access to the services and processes of imec in Belgium, CEA-Leti in France, and the new Kvanttinova.