NEWS
The European Union has launched
NanoIC at IMEC Leuven, marking the largest Chips Act pilot line in Europe and a major step for semiconductor innovation.
The € 2.5 billion facility includes € 700 million in EU funding, € 700 million from national and regional governments and additional investment from ASML and other industry partners.
NanoIC will accelerate next generation semiconductor technologies vital for AI, autonomous vehicles, healthcare and 6G connectivity.
NanoIC is the first European site to deploy the most advanced Extreme Ultraviolet lithography system, enabling chip design and manufacturing beyond two nanometres. This represents a significant leap in Europe’ s semiconductor capability.
EU launches € 700m NanoIC pilot line to boost Europe’ s semiconductor sovereignty
equipment and processes at near industrial scale before mass production.
Built on an open access model, NanoIC welcomes start-ups, researchers, SMEs and large organisations. Hosted by IMEC in Belgium, partners include CEA-Leti in France, Fraunhofer in Germany, VTT in Finland, CSSNT in Romania and Tyndall National Institute in Ireland.
As part of the Chips for Europe initiative, pilot lines help move chip innovation from lab to fab.
Together the five pilot lines represent € 3.7 billion in EU and national investment, strengthening Europe’ s semiconductor supply chain, industrial competitiveness and technological sovereignty for future generations.
Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Flanders Minister-President Matthias Diependaele officially opened the facility. It allows researchers and companies to test new chip designs,
EU awards € 25M to SUPREME consortium to accelerate superconducting quantum technology industrialisation
The European Union has awarded
EUR 25 million to the SUPREME consortium – marking a major step toward industrialising superconducting quantum technologies across Europe.
Combined with national funding from Member States, the total investment reaches EUR 50 million. The first phase begins in early 2026 and runs for three and a half years, bringing together 23 partners from eight EU countries.
SUPREME aims to industrialise superconducting quantum technologies and strengthen Europe’ s global leadership in quantum innovation. The consortium will develop scalable and stable fabrication processes for superconducting quantum devices and make them accessible to European SMEs, large enterprises, startups and academia.
Funding is provided equally by the EU Chips Joint Undertaking and national agencies and supports the first 3.5-year phase. The initiative will focus on building stable technologies and ensuring broad access for industry and research organisations.
A major milestone will be the fabrication and demonstration of a 3D integrated qubit module containing 200 qubits. This will demonstrate improved stability, higher yield and stronger reproducibility in key fabrication processes for superconducting quantum chips.
SUPREME will validate critical processes including angle evaporated junctions, etched junctions, 3D integration and hybrid fabrication methods for quantum computing, sensing and communication applications. The target is to reach technology readiness level TRL 6 and manufacturing readiness level MRL 6.
To maximise impact, the consortium will offer piloting services, shared wafer runs and Process Design Kits, enabling companies to design and develop their own quantum devices and systems. www. intelligentcio. com
INTELLIGENT CIO EUROPE
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