Since the COVID pandemic, we have been facing an increase in prices for semiconductor components, leading to extended delivery times that can result in shortages impacting the semiconductor industry. Europe accounts for only about 10% of the global market share in the production of these strategic components and is highly dependent on suppliers from third countries, especially in Asia (China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan) and the USA. Recognizing the situation, European authorities have expressed their desire to create a cutting-edge European semiconductor ecosystem that includes production. This strategy has recently been implemented in the "EU chips act," with the stated goal of doubling Europe's share in global chip production from 10% to 20% by 2030, effectively quadrupling production capacity on European soil. Moreover, Europe is facing a challenge with the availability of a qualified workforce: designers need to be more productive and require automated solutions.
The EmpoSoC project is fully aligned and addresses the challenges raised by the European Chip Act. The EmpoSoC project will help establish European leadership in the dynamic, global, and highly competitive market of Chip design. It's not only about the competitiveness of the European offering in Chip building platforms; the crucial issue is the technological sovereignty of the semiconductor industry.
EmpoSoC will enable to design more complex System on Chips (SoCs) for high-performance and for low-power electronic devices with a lower cost.