The Government constitutes the board of trustees of the first advanced chip center in Catalonia

BarcelonaThe Generalitat is entering a new phase to launch the first chip design and prototyping center in Catalonia. The Government established this Monday theThe new board will be the driving force behind the center, dedicated to "making Catalonia a key player" in the semiconductor and advanced chip sector, essential for achieving European technological autonomy, according to the Generalitat's statement. The Government already awarded the basic engineering project to build the space to the IDP group in January, for approximately 2.6 million euros. The final construction project, as well as the executive commission, is expected to be awarded this summer.

An investment of almost 400 million

In total, the center will represent an investment of close to 400 million euros, divided between the State and the Generalitat. The Spanish government will allocate around 60 million euros from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, while the Catalan executive will mobilize 193 million. To these two figures, a complementary loan of 145 million euros will be added. The initiative is part of the Perte Xip, the Spanish project to extend the semiconductor sector in Spain, as well as the initiatives of the European Chips Act, Brussels' legislative package that goes in the same direction.

The facility will be located in Parc de l'Alba, in Cerdanyola del Vallès, next to the Sincrotró; with a constructed area of 22,000 square meters. It will be divided into four spaces: a clean room, of about 2,000 square meters, dedicated to manufacturing prototypes of designed microchips; the FAB as such, about 10,600 square meters spread over four floors; a building with offices and laboratories, of about 7,300 square meters, and an auxiliary service area, of 4,000 square meters. The objective of the integration of activities is "to allow innovations developed in laboratories to become industrial products".