Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INFRACHIP (European Research Infrastructure on Semiconductor Chips)
Período documentado: 2024-01-01 hasta 2025-12-31
The project was launched partly in direct response to the European Chips Act (which entered into force in September 2023), which identified the need for greater R&I capacity, open access to advanced facilities, and skills development in the semiconductor sector. Europe's ambition to close the gap with global competitors in chip design and manufacturing requires mobilising capital investment, expert knowledge, and state-of-the-art equipment at early-to-medium Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). INFRACHIP responds to this by removing access barriers and building a critical mass of research capacity across member states.
Objectives
INFRACHIP has five core objectives, operating across the full innovation value chain:
• Access provision — open, transnational access to state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication and characterisation facilities across Europe at no cost to qualified users
• R&I capacity building — supporting multi- and transdisciplinary "path-finding" user projects exploring new materials, manufacturing processes, and disruptive technologies
• Twin green and digital transition — driving sustainable ICT innovation, particularly for secure edge applications, addressing both climate and digital policy goals
• Lab-to-Fab acceleration — channelling project outputs toward Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs), European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), and Pilot Lines
• Talent and skills development — building a skilled semiconductor workforce through the Research Accelerator Programme and hands-on training courses for early-career researchers
Pathways to Impact
The project's pathway to impact follows a clear logic from open access → guided research → translation → deployment:
• Transnational Access (TA): Researchers, PhD students, academics, and SMEs apply for free, EU-funded access to partner facilities equipped with state-of-the-art tools for nanofabrication, characterisation, and testing.
• Challenge-driven user projects: Funded access projects target proof-of-concept studies, feasibility of new processes, and introduction of novel materials — deliberately operating at low-to-mid TRLs where industry typically underinvests.
• Research Accelerator Programme (RAP): Intensive, hands-on training at partner institutes (including Tyndall and INL) equips early-career researchers with the skills to engage with the infrastructure and progress their own research programmes.
• Lab-to-Fab translation: Project results will be actively channelled into TEFs, EDIHs, and Pilot Lines to bridge the gap between laboratory outcomes and industrial-scale manufacturing.
The result is a structured pipeline where open access to shared infrastructure generates research results at low TRLs, those results are guided toward higher readiness through TEFs and pilot lines, and a continuously replenished skilled workforce sustains the ecosystem long-term.
Objectives
INFRACHIP has five core objectives, operating across the full innovation value chain:
• Access provision — open, transnational access to state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication and characterisation facilities across Europe at no cost to qualified users
• R&I capacity building — supporting multi- and transdisciplinary "path-finding" user projects exploring new materials, manufacturing processes, and disruptive technologies
• Twin green and digital transition — driving sustainable ICT innovation, particularly for secure edge applications, addressing both climate and digital policy goals
• Lab-to-Fab acceleration — channelling project outputs toward Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs), European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), and Pilot Lines
• Talent and skills development — building a skilled semiconductor workforce through the Research Accelerator Programme and hands-on training courses for early-career researchers
Pathways to Impact
The project's pathway to impact follows a clear logic from open access → guided research → translation → deployment:
• Transnational Access (TA): Researchers, PhD students, academics, and SMEs apply for free, EU-funded access to partner facilities equipped with state-of-the-art tools for nanofabrication, characterisation, and testing.
• Challenge-driven user projects: Funded access projects target proof-of-concept studies, feasibility of new processes, and introduction of novel materials — deliberately operating at low-to-mid TRLs where industry typically underinvests.
• Research Accelerator Programme (RAP): Intensive, hands-on training at partner institutes (including Tyndall and INL) equips early-career researchers with the skills to engage with the infrastructure and progress their own research programmes.
• Lab-to-Fab translation: Project results will be actively channelled into TEFs, EDIHs, and Pilot Lines to bridge the gap between laboratory outcomes and industrial-scale manufacturing.
The result is a structured pipeline where open access to shared infrastructure generates research results at low TRLs, those results are guided toward higher readiness through TEFs and pilot lines, and a continuously replenished skilled workforce sustains the ecosystem long-term.
Transnational Access – Key Achievements
The project has delivered significant impact through its Transnational Access (TA) programme, building a broad and diverse portfolio of 163 access offerings spanning research facilities and expertise across participating sites.
To support this activity, 171 experts were mobilised at Access Providers' sites, ensuring that visiting researchers received high-quality, hands-on scientific and technical support throughout their stays.
A total of 119 TA projects were successfully executed, enabling researchers from across Europe and beyond to access world-class infrastructure that would not otherwise be available to them. This activity directly benefited 668 researchers, strengthening the skills, networks, and research outputs of participants while advancing the wider goals of open and collaborative research infrastructure.
Training – Key Achievements
INFRACHIP supports skills development through a suite of complementary training programmes targeting primarily early career researchers. These include Research Attachment Programmes (RAPs), hands-on training sessions delivered in part by industry experts, the INFRACHIP School, and the Digital School. The INFRACHIP School is an intensive week-long programme designed to build competencies in a specific research field relevant to the host institution, while Digital Schools offer flexible, webinar-based learning accessible to a broader audience.
In the first two years of the programme, INFRACHIP has delivered 10 RAPs, 16 hands-on training sessions, 2 INFRACHIP Schools, and 5 Digital Schools, demonstrating strong and growing engagement with the research training community.
The project has delivered significant impact through its Transnational Access (TA) programme, building a broad and diverse portfolio of 163 access offerings spanning research facilities and expertise across participating sites.
To support this activity, 171 experts were mobilised at Access Providers' sites, ensuring that visiting researchers received high-quality, hands-on scientific and technical support throughout their stays.
A total of 119 TA projects were successfully executed, enabling researchers from across Europe and beyond to access world-class infrastructure that would not otherwise be available to them. This activity directly benefited 668 researchers, strengthening the skills, networks, and research outputs of participants while advancing the wider goals of open and collaborative research infrastructure.
Training – Key Achievements
INFRACHIP supports skills development through a suite of complementary training programmes targeting primarily early career researchers. These include Research Attachment Programmes (RAPs), hands-on training sessions delivered in part by industry experts, the INFRACHIP School, and the Digital School. The INFRACHIP School is an intensive week-long programme designed to build competencies in a specific research field relevant to the host institution, while Digital Schools offer flexible, webinar-based learning accessible to a broader audience.
In the first two years of the programme, INFRACHIP has delivered 10 RAPs, 16 hands-on training sessions, 2 INFRACHIP Schools, and 5 Digital Schools, demonstrating strong and growing engagement with the research training community.
INFRACHIP serves as a powerful bridge between academia, research institutes, and industry, creating a dynamic and inclusive platform for knowledge exchange, strategic collaboration, and joint innovation. By bringing together stakeholders from across the research and industrial landscape, INFRACHIP plays a pivotal role in connecting the full length of the innovation chain - from fundamental research through to applied R&D.
In pursuit of this mission, INFRACHIP has actively engaged with leading industry-driven platforms, including AENEAS and EPoSS, both of which are central to Europe's semiconductor and smart systems ecosystem. At the global level, INFRACHIP established ties with the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS), ensuring that its activities remain aligned with international trends and priorities shaping the future of microelectronics research.
Beyond these industry and global connections, INFRACHIP has forged direct links with a range of complementary EU initiatives. These include EUROPRACTICE, which supports access to microelectronics design and fabrication services; the European Chips Skills Academy, which is driving coordinated skills development across the semiconductor sector; and the European Chips Competence Centres, which are building strategic research and innovation capacity across Member States. Together, these partnerships position INFRACHIP as a central node within Europe's broader semiconductor research and innovation landscape, amplifying its impact and ensuring coherence with the goals of the EU Chips Act.
In pursuit of this mission, INFRACHIP has actively engaged with leading industry-driven platforms, including AENEAS and EPoSS, both of which are central to Europe's semiconductor and smart systems ecosystem. At the global level, INFRACHIP established ties with the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS), ensuring that its activities remain aligned with international trends and priorities shaping the future of microelectronics research.
Beyond these industry and global connections, INFRACHIP has forged direct links with a range of complementary EU initiatives. These include EUROPRACTICE, which supports access to microelectronics design and fabrication services; the European Chips Skills Academy, which is driving coordinated skills development across the semiconductor sector; and the European Chips Competence Centres, which are building strategic research and innovation capacity across Member States. Together, these partnerships position INFRACHIP as a central node within Europe's broader semiconductor research and innovation landscape, amplifying its impact and ensuring coherence with the goals of the EU Chips Act.