The Spanish Government is determined to occupy a niche in the global semiconductor market, to advance the strategic autonomy desired by the European Union. This was the commitment with which the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced the launch of the Strategic Project for Recovery and Transformation on microchips and semiconductors at the beginning of April 2022. The one known as Perte chip was then born, equipped with 12,250 million euros, the largest of all the projects of the Transformation and Resilience Plan.
“It was a breath of fresh air, which made us think that we could recover a past attempt to host a factory in our country,” acknowledges a prestigious Spanish scientist who, due to his commitment to a public project in this sector, prefers not to be mentioned. The core of the Perte is the 9,250 million that are destined to house two manufacturing plants.
“It is a very tough competition because there are very few companies that can do it and many territories are interested in attracting them. Spain has important attractions such as talent, connectivity, strategic position… But the work of convincing the few companies capable of carrying out this manufacturing is hard,” says Cándido Pérez, partner responsible for infrastructure, transportation, government and health of KPMG in Spain.
Hard work and also stealth, away from the information spotlights that is generating a certain uncertainty among companies in the sector. In this area, they are aware that the Government is working intensively to ensure that international companies choose Spain as a destination for investments in this sector. And also that the challenge is not easy.
“This Perte differs from the rest in that, in addition to being implemented through calls for companies to present projects, it seeks to attract specific investments to Spain,” explains Pérez.
The digital industry employer’s association, Ametic, has released a survey of potential candidates in which 36.36% rule out settling in Spain under any circumstances. “Right now what prevails is uncertainty. Neither we nor the consultants who advise us know very well what to do,” they explain from a European multinational in the sector with a large presence in Spain. At the moment, a large manufacturer that has shown interest is Broadcom, which is looking for a partner to install its first semiconductor factory in Europe in Spain. A final location that will depend on the chosen partner.
From Ametic, they consider that instead of focusing so much on attracting a manufacturer, Spain should first focus on generating talent and helping the current business fabric grow, which in total 76% is focused on design activities. A position that, as the Minister for Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá, explains this Sunday in the pages of La Vanguardia, also concentrates the Government’s current efforts.
Of course, this should be done without abandoning the strategy of attracting investors. Along these lines, powerful projects have already crystallized. Barcelona has been chosen by Cisco as the headquarters of its first microchip design center in the EU. Malaga will be the second world headquarters of the IMEC semiconductor R&D leader, and Microsoft has just announced that it will invest 1,950 million in infrastructure to develop AI. “We must boost demand and generate an ecosystem that generates demand. If it is achieved, investments will come,” they say from Ametic.
So far only two minor Perte calls have seen the light, for a total of 95 million euros. There are 50 million for 15 companies for research and integrated photonics and 45 million for specialized training projects. “We need an exciting project on the part of public institutions and more willingness to take risk on the part of companies. R&D is important, but manufacturing is important in this new geopolitical context,” warns CSIC researcher José Luis Costa Krämer.
