Vigtigt europæisk chipprojekt får fornyet 'funding'
Det ekstremt succesfulde Europractice program, der har sikret universiteter og forskningsenheder med flere billig tilgang chipproduktionskapacitet i form af MPW (multi-project wafer) produktioner, er blevet tilført nye penge.
A consortium of five European partners, coordinated by imec, has secured European funding for Europractice services until September 2028. Funded by Chips JU, Europractice 2.0 will sustain and extend the trusted, long-standing Europractice Services that have enabled world-class chip design and prototyping for academia, research institutes, and their spinouts over the past 30 years.
Launched in 1995, Europractice supports more than 600 European universities and research institutes every year. It provides users with a full range of services needed to design and fabricate electronic circuits and smart integrated systems.
This includes affordable access to industry-standard design tools, fabrication technologies, training, and full technical support. The Europractice consortium is led by imec and includes UKRI-STFC, Fraunhofer IIS, Grenoble INP-UGA, and Tyndall National Institute.
Europractice 2.0 will extend these well-established Europractice services to address new challenges and further support Europe’s semiconductor sovereignty. It will offer fabrication services in more than 90 technologies from various suppliers based on the cost-sharing multi-project wafer (MPW) principle, complemented by packaging and heterogeneous integration techniques.
The portfolio will be continuously updated with advanced and emerging technologies including those from European research centres and Chips JU pilot lines. To expedite the design process, the project will facilitate design IP exchange within the user community.
Addressing Europe’s semiconductor skills gap remains a core mission. Europractice 2.0 will train more than 650 participants annually, amplifying its impact through a train-the-trainer initiative. Simplified design flows and shared tapeouts for ClassIC student chips – aimed specifically at undergraduate students – will further lower entry barriers and expand hands-on learning.
Europractice 2.0 will also nurture early-stage academic spinouts during their incubation phase. Close collaboration with the EU Chips Design Platform (EuroCDP) will ensure a seamless transition to acceleration and commercialisation, creating a clear, structured path from research to market and contributing to the long-term growth and competitiveness of Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem.
The Europractice 2.0 project is supported by the Chips JU and its members under grant agreement nr.101252350.
