April 14th 2022
PhotonDelta, a cross-border ecosystem of photonic chip technology organizations including PHIX, has, subject to conditions*, secured €1.1 billion in public and private investment to transform the Netherlands into the leader of the next generation of semiconductors
The investment includes €470 million funding obtained through the National Growth Fund (Nationaal Groeifonds), while the rest is co-invested by various partners and stakeholders. It is part of the Dutch Government’s national plan to cement and expand the country’s position as a world leader in integrated photonics.
The programme will run for six years and will enable PhotonDelta and its partners to further invest in photonic startups and scaleups, expand production and research facilities, attract and train talent, drive adoption, and develop a world-class design library. By 2030, PhotonDelta aims to have created an ecosystem with hundreds of companies, serving customers worldwide and a wafer production capacity of 100,000+ per year.
Photo by Bart van Overbeeke
The PhotonDelta proposal has been submitted by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy in close collaboration with Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), University of Twente (UT), Delft University of Technology (TUD), Holst Centre, TNO, IMEC, PITC, CITC, OnePlanet, SMART Photonics, LioniX International, EFFECT Photonics, MantiSpectra, PhotonFirst, PHIX, and BRIGHT Photonics. We wish to thank these partners for contributing to the PhotonDelta proposal!
The PhotonDelta ecosystem currently consists of 26 companies, 11 technology partners and 12 R&D partners. The organization is part of a consortium which has jointly invested €171 million in promising photonics companies.
*Conditions include:
· Strategic partnership with a foundry agreed
· Research activity connected with applications of technology
· Ongoing evaluation of PhotonDelta’s ecosystem
This investment is a game-changer. It will make The Netherlands the home of the next generation of semiconductors which will have a profound impact on the whole European tech industry. We will now be able to support hundreds of startups, researchers, producers and innovators to boost this industry that will be as impactful as the introduction of microelectronics a few decades ago.
This investment in the integrated photonics ecosystem will accelerate the growth of the entire Integrated Photonic industry. For PHIX the fund enables our ambitious growth plans in packaging and assembly of photonic integrated circuits (PICs), by allowing us to further expand our manufacturing competences, capacity, and infrastructure.
