EU invests $142 million in Dutch photonic chip plants

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The European Union will invest 133 million euros ($142 million)in pilot production facilities for photonic semiconductors in the Netherlands, the Dutch economy ministry said on Monday.

The funding is part of a total amount of 380 million euros aimed at setting up photonic semiconductor production plants throughout Europe under the so-called Chips Joint Undertaking, a European public-private partnership to promote research and development in the semiconductor industry.

Photonic semiconductors use light, rather than electrons, to perform calculations, with advantages in speed and power consumption, making them increasingly useful for applications including in data centres and cars.

“Photonics is a technology of strategic importance,” Dutch economy minister Dirk Beljaarts said in statement.

“Our goal is to get a strong European competitive edge. From knowledge, innovation, supply chains to end products.”

Executives from a group of Europe’s largest photonic computer chip companies last year called on the European Union to support the growing industry with 4.25 billion euros in funding to help it compete with rivals in Asia and the United States.

After being tasked by the European Commission to explore how the EU should keep its greening and more digital economy competitive at a time of increased global friction, former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said in a report in September that the bloc needed to invest far more and far quicker to keep pace economically with the U.S. and China.

Work on the Dutch facilities is expected to start in 2025, led by the universities of Eindhoven and Twente in cooperation with Dutch knowledge institute TNO. Companies that use the facilities will co-invest.

($1 = 0.9380 euros)

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)