The international semiconductor campus planned by the Valencian semiconductor cluster aims to obtain 50 million euros in European funds. This is the approximate figure given this Friday by the president of the Valencia Silicon Cluster, Mayte Bacete, during the first forum organized by the sector at the Valencia headquarters of the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community.
Bacete, director of one of the semiconductor companies installed in the Valencian Community, MaxLinear, explained that the project, which is in the process of being developed, seeks to “be eligible” within the Perte Chip call promoted by the Government and which is endowed with 12,000 million euros.
The campus seeks above all to promote the talent that the sector craves and aspires to be the headquarters of specialized startups, in addition to providing specialized training, such as that provided by the three Valencian chairs that have already obtained European funding in last summer’s call for said Perte . “With the Chip-Chairs we are going to continue growing the sector and all this can only be achieved with effort and work,” said Bacete.
Likewise, the president of the cluster has pointed out that, although currently international companies do not manufacture in Valencia, but design, “we push for that strength to continue growing” and added that the idea would be to bring to the Valencian Community, for example, models “fab-to-lab” factory, digital manufacturing laboratories.
At the conference, the three Chair projects were presented, two from the UPV – UPV VaSic for microelectronic design and UPV-VaSic for Photonic Chips – and the UV-VaSic chair for advanced materials for the microchip and semiconductor industry.
The three have 13.8 million from the Perte and another 2.5 million euros from private capital and demonstrate the strength of the Valencian sector for lifting the Valencian Community to first place in attracting these funds.
Likewise, on the day the president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, announced that next week he will request “in writing and urgently” the convening of the Generalitat Valenciana-State bilateral commission – as requested by the cluster this same week – to “concrete , design and advance” in the leadership of the Valencian cluster in Perte Chip. Mazón, who assured that what was presented this Friday in Valencia was an example of how to do “state policy”, pointed out that he was grateful to find “demilitarized spaces of daily conflict.” Likewise, he has pointed out the importance of coordination between public administrations “from responsibility and with the necessary support so that nothing is an excuse to promote this great industry.”
For her part, the Government delegate Pilar Bernabé has indicated that in addition to the almost 14 million allocated to the chairs, the “MisionesChip” developed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation have also awarded the Valencian Community a total of 9.5 million of euros. “The Perte Chip is going to mark a before and after. We are not stopping with this and we are going to continue working, in fact a third of the funds are already going to the Valencian Community: that is materializing the support of a Government.” With a budget of 60 million euros, financed with Next Generation EU funds, the so-called “Chip Missions” promote the development of scientific capabilities in the field of microelectronics and semiconductors and collaboration between companies.
The commissioner for the Perte Chip, Jaime Martorell, participated in the meeting, who congratulated the Valencian Community for obtaining the funds for the chairs and assured that there will be more linked calls that will make it possible to finance other projects. Likewise, in a video appearance, the Secretary of State for Telecommunications, María González, assured that “in a few weeks” the final resolution of the Perte call will be published.
The universities, represented by the rectors Mavi Mestre and José E. Capilla, of the UV and the UPV, respectively, have celebrated the synergies obtained. Capilla has assured that in Valencia “we have the greatest concentration in the field of microelectronics with more than 500 specialized engineers” and Mestre has pointed out that this is a “strategic commitment to become a territory of the future.”
Among the audience were some of the signatories of the Manifesto that the cluster made public this week, such as former president Joan Lerma, former councilor Vicent Soler or his successor as president of the Social Council of the University of Valencia, Ángela Pérez.
