ICFO in PERTE Chip Advisory Board

The First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, chaired the constitutive meeting of the Expert Group for the Strategic Project  (PERTE) Chip which is charged with advancing the governance of the strategic microelectronics and semiconductors project. Approved by the Council of Ministers in May 2022, PERTE Chip (Strategic Project for Microelectronics and Semiconductors within the Spanish Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience) is a macro project which foresees the mobilization of a total of €12,500 million through 2027 to promote and attract investment to Spain around the chip industry and related technologies.

With the constitution of this Advisory Board, PERTE Chip will have the support of renowned experts to ensure the coordination and effectiveness of the investments and actions that will be carried out within this project, providing information and strategic guidance to maximize impact around microchip design and manufacturing.

Eleven members from the fields of business, academia and science

ICFO Director Lluís Torner is one of the eleven members of this advisory body appointed by the first vice president, all of whom are international experts in the microelectronics and semiconductors sector.

• Mayte Bacete,General Director of MaxLinear Hispania
• Luis Fonseca,Director of IMP-CNM (CSIC) and leader of the “MicroEnergy sources and Sensor Integration” research group
• Ignacio Herrera, Director of Projects, Avionics and Advanced Systems at SENER Aeroespacial
• María Luisa López Vallejo, Professor of Electronic Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
• Juan Carlos Lopez, Professor of Technologies and Information Systems, Universidad de Castilla- La Mancha and leader of the “Arco” research group
• María Marced, President of TSMC Europe and president of Leadership Coucil EMEA of Global Semiconductor Alliance
• Antonio Núñez, former director of the University Institute of Applied Microelectronics of the Canary Islands, Professor at the University of Las Palmas De Gran Canaria
• Lluis Torner, Director of ICFO
• Teresa Riesgo, Secretary General for Innovation, Ministry of Science and Innovation Government of Spain
• Mateo Valero, Director del Barcelona Supercomputing Center
• Ezequiel Navaro, CEO Grupo Premo

Balance of the first results of the PERTE CHIP

In the first meeting which took place today with the participation of Special Commissioner of PERTE Chip, Jaime Martorell, and the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, María González Veracruz, the group analysed the important advances made in the first year of implementation of the PERTE. This period was marked by the announcement of relevant investments in the sector by multinationals such as Cisco, Intel, Open Chip and Broadcom, which will install a manufacturing plant for key substrates for the production of microchips. Likewise, the first call for aid was launched within the framework of PERTE CHIP in collaboration with the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), 'Misiones Chip', with an investment of 60 million euros, for R&D projects that enhance scientific capacities in the field of microelectronics and semiconductors and stimulate public-private collaboration.

During the meeting, the lines of action for the second half of the year where shared, which will include the resolution of aid and the publication of the call for 'Chip Chairs', with a budget of 80 million euros for the training of at least 1,000 qualified professionals and research throughout the value chain of this industry.