Europe took a step to strengthen its hand in the global chip race on Monday as Belgian research firm imec opened “NanoIC”, a 2.5 billion euros ($2.95 billion) pilot line aimed at developing ultra-advanced semiconductors under the EU’s Chips Act.
Europe is home to major chipmaking equipment champions – including Dutch lithography leader ASML (ASML.AS)
, opens new tab – but produces and designs only a small slice of the most advanced chips, leaving it largely on the sidelines of the AI-driven boom that has lifted U.S. and Asian players.
NanoIC is designed to close part of that gap. Rather than building a full commercial factory, Europe is betting on a shared research model that lets firms and labs prototype beyond-2nm process steps and integration before committing billions to volume manufacturing.
The European Chips Act, unveiled in 2022, aims to double the EU’s share of global semiconductor production to 20% by 2030. NanoIC will host ASML’s most advanced tool, the High NA EUV machine, alongside its full suite of accompanying tools.
Reuters
