The European Union has put €700 million into NanoIC

The European Union has formally inaugurated NanoIC, a semiconductor pilot line backed by a €700 million investment under the European Chips Act.

The facility aims to accelerate the development of advanced chip technologies and strengthen Europe’s position in the global semiconductor landscape.

Situated at the research hub imec in Leuven, NanoIC is designed as an open pilot line where companies, research institutes, and startups can prototype and test cutting-edge components before commercial deployment.

Unlike traditional closed fabs, the facility offers access to beyond-2-nanometre system-on-chip (SoC) technologies, early-stage process design kits, and advanced toolsets that bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial application.

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Officials from the European Commission, imec leadership, and industry partners marked the launch at an event in Leuven, highlighting the pilot line as a key milestone in Europe’s semiconductor sovereignty strategy.

The investment forms part of a broader €2.5 billion Chips Act programme supported by national governments and private partners, including ASML, underscoring a shared effort to make the continent more competitive in next-generation electronics.

NanoIC’s capabilities target innovations across critical markets such as artificial intelligence, 6G communications, autonomous systems, and health technologies, where advanced chip performance and efficiency are crucial.

By lowering barriers to access for SMEs and research organisations, the initiative seeks to diversify Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem and catalyse new product development without the massive upfront costs of commercial fabs.

The pilot line is one of the first tangible outcomes of the Chips Act’s “Chips for Europe” initiative, which also includes other pilot lines focusing on packaging, wide bandgap materials, and photonic integrated circuits.

These efforts reflect growing pressure on the EU to reduce reliance on Asian and U.S. supply chains and to foster a more resilient semiconductor industry at home.

Industry observers say that by opening facilities like NanoIC to a broad set of stakeholders, Europe can speed up the transition from research breakthroughs to commercially viable technologies, addressing long-standing gaps in chip production capabilities and cultivating talent across the continent.