The semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia has 260 stakeholders, including companies, technology centres and research institutes. Between them they have created 4,600 jobs for researchers and highly skilled workers. The 216 member companies also have a turnover of 302 million euros. These are some of the main conclusions of the updated version of the report Semiconductors in Catalonia, produced by the Government of Catalonia, which were unveiled during the presentation of the Semiconductor and Chip Alliance of Catalonia.

The meeting kicked off this joint public-private initiative which has around fifty members and aims to define the industrial policies that will boost this ecosystem in Catalonia. The event included speeches by the Catalan Minister for Business and Labour, Roger Torrent i Ramió; the Minister for Economy and Finance, Natàlia Mas i Guix; and the Minister for Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal i Farreras. The event was also attended by companies from the sector including Semidynamics, Qilimanjaro, Ideaded and Inbrain.

During his speech, Minister Torrent stressed that “Catalonia must be a leader and a reference point in the field of semiconductors in Southern Europe”, and he highlighted “the roadmap that the Government has drawn up with companies and stakeholders in the ecosystem.” He pointed out that “public-private collaboration is crucial for the success of all our national projects”. The Minister announced that the sector had expanded from 86 to 216 companies, generating 4,600 jobs in two years, and took the opportunity to encourage more companies to join the alliance “because we want this project to continue”.

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Natàlia Mas Guix, stressed “the potential” of Catalonia to become a “major player in the value chain of the semiconductor industry”. As an example, she pointed to the Innofab project, a prototyping and pre-production plant for chips with advanced materials, which will involve an investment of 365 million euros.

Finally, Minister Nadal stressed the “broad-based nature of the Alliance, which brings together the Government, universities, research centres and the business world, highlighting the need to work on a coordinated basis in order to make progress with the implementation of tangible measures”.

An initiative to boost Catalonia’s semiconductor ecosystem

The Semiconductor and Chip Alliance of Catalonia was created with the aim of being as inclusive and representative as possible, in order to establish a consensus to define the road map to follow for international positioning, growth and enhanced competitiveness in the semiconductor sector.

The initiative is part of the National Agreement for Industry 2022-2025, which was approved in autumn 2022 and includes the preparation of a strategic plan for development and to attract investment for the manufacture of semiconductors in order to position Catalonia internationally as a hub of knowledge, economic activity and infrastructure related to the chip sector. It is also in line with the priority of the National Knowledge Society Agreement to support strategic projects in order to expand training capacity in an industry which has highly specialised talent as one of its cornerstones.

An emerging field in attracting foreign technology investment

Semiconductor technology is a priority for the Government because of its contribution to Catalan and European technological sovereignty and to boosting industry. Initiatives such as the Semiconductor and Chip Alliance of Catalonia, the Semiconductor Strategy and the Innofab pre-production plant have contributed to the emergence of a specialised and diverse business environment along the entire value chain. Catalonia also plays an active role in European and international projects related to this field, such as the European Semiconductor Regions Alliance.

The wealth of this ecosystem has made Catalonia a benchmark destination for technological investment in the semiconductors field. In fact, it is the third-ranked region in the European Union in terms of attracting the most projects (6% of the total) since the announcement of the European Chips Law 2022, behind only Bavaria and Ireland. These projects include those by Cisco and Intel amounting to a total of 420 million euros (1% of the total amount in the EU) which have generated almost 1,200 jobs (8% of the total in the EU).