FEATURE: IRELAND SUSTAINABILITY
With strategies like this in place, Ireland finds itself in a unique position to offer a rare combination of engineering talent, cutting-edge R & D and a renewable-powered grid for companies seeking to balance performance with sustainability.
A magnet for global investment
Between 2023 and 2024, Ireland secured nearly € 1 billion in semiconductor investments from industry
THIS CLEAN ENERGY FOUNDATION HAS BECOME A CENTRAL PILLAR IN ATTRACTING THE NEXT WAVE OF SEMICONDUCTOR INVESTMENT.
The strategy aligns closely with EU ambitions under the European Chips Act, encompassing initiatives such as establishing a national semiconductor research centre, building ready-made sites for advanced chip fabrication and strengthening connections across the domestic supply chain.
Crucially, Silicon Island doesn’ t stand in isolation. With its broader focus on national strategies in AI, quantum technologies and climate policy, Silicon Island ensures that semiconductors are treated not as a siloed industrial project but as a foundational enabler of future technologies and green economic growth.
Innovation for an efficient future
Part of what sets Ireland apart is its emphasis on forward-looking technologies that directly address the sector’ s energy demands. Photonics, using light rather than electricity to transfer data, is a growing area of focus, with Irish institutions like IPIC and the Tyndall National Institute leading cutting-edge research. These technologies promise faster chips and cooler, more energy-efficient ones – particularly heavyweights like AMD, Analog Devices, Infineon and Qualcomm. These aren’ t just expansions – they represent fundamental shifts in strategy. AMD, for example, is transforming its Irish operations into one of its largest research hubs in Europe, focusing on adaptive computing and AI. Analog Devices is investing € 630 million to triple its wafer production in Limerick and scale up its research capabilities.
Big multinationals don’ t just define Ireland’ s semiconductor landscape. Homegrown innovators like Mbryonics and YieldHub, as well as a new generation of Deep-Tech startups in fields like biosensing and advanced packaging, are adding momentum.
With more than 100 companies and research institutions now active in the space, Ireland has quietly built one of Europe’ s most complete semiconductor ecosystems – from design and manufacturing to research and commercialisation.
A national strategy with global ambitions
In May 2025, the Irish government launched its first-ever national semiconductor strategy, Silicon Island, to ensure this momentum is sustained. This nationwide plan is about more than attracting investment – it aims to position Ireland as a long-term global leader in chip innovation, talent development and sustainable manufacturing.
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