Establishment of the Initiative
1. The Initiative is established for the duration of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021–2027, established by Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 ( 30 ) .
2. The Initiative shall be supported by funding from Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme, and in particular Specific Objective 6 of the Digital Europe Programme, for a maximum indicative amount of EUR 1,725 billion and EUR 1,575 billion, respectively. That funding shall be implemented in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2021/694 and (EU) 2021/695.
Objectives of the Initiative
1. The general objective of the Initiative is to achieve large-scale technological capacity building and support related research and innovation activities throughout the Union’s semiconductor value chain to enable development and deployment of cutting-edge semiconductor technologies, next-generation semiconductor technologies and cutting-edge quantum technologies and the innovation of established technologies that will reinforce advanced design, systems integration and chip production capabilities in the Union, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the Union. It shall also contribute to the achievement of the green and digital transitions, in particular by reducing the climate impact of electronic systems, improving the sustainability of next-generation chips and strengthening the circular economy processes, contribute to quality jobs within the semiconductor ecosystem and address security-by-design principles, which provide protection against cybersecurity threats.
2. The Initiative shall have the following five operational objectives:
(a)
operational objective 1: building up advanced design capacities for integrated semiconductor technologies;
(b)
operational objective 2: enhancing existing and developing new advanced pilot lines across the Union to enable development and deployment of cutting-edge semiconductor technologies and next-generation semiconductor technologies;
(c)
operational objective 3: building advanced technology and engineering capacities for accelerating the innovative development of cutting-edge quantum chips and associated semiconductor technologies;
(d)
operational objective 4: establishing a network of competence centres across the Union by enhancing existing or creating new facilities;
(e)
operational objective 5: undertaking activities, to be described collectively as ‘Chips Fund’ activities, to facilitate access to debt financing and equity, including by providing clear guidance, in particular for start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs and small mid-caps in the semiconductor value chain, through a blending facility under the InvestEU Fund and via the European Innovation Council.
3. The Initiative’s operational objectives may include capacity building activities and related research and innovation activities. All capacity building activities shall be financed through the Digital Europe Programme and the related research and innovation activities shall be funded through Horizon Europe.
Content of the Initiative
The Initiative shall:
(a)
under its operational objective 1:
(i)
build up and maintain a virtual design platform, available across the Union, integrating existing and new design facilities with extended libraries and electronic design automation (EDA) tools;
(ii)
extend the design capabilities by fostering innovative developments, such as open-source processor architectures and other innovative architectures, chiplets, programmable chips, new types of memory, processors, accelerators or low power chips, that are built in accordance with security-by-design principles;
(iii)
enlarge the semiconductor ecosystem by integrating the vertical market sectors, such as health, mobility, energy, telecommunications, security, defence and space, contributing to the green, digital and innovation agendas of the Union;
(b)
under its operational objective 2:
(i)
strengthen capabilities in next-generation chip production technologies and manufacturing equipment, by integrating research and innovation activities and preparing the development of future technology nodes, such as leading-edge nodes, fully depleted silicon on insulator technologies, new semiconductors materials or heterogeneous systems integration and advanced module assembly and packaging for high, medium or low volumes;
(ii)
support innovation at a large scale through access to new or existing pilot lines for experimentation, test, process control, final device reliability and validation of new design concepts integrating key functionalities;
(iii)
provide support to integrated production facilities and open EU foundries through preferential access to the new pilot lines, as well as ensure access on fair terms to new pilot lines for a wide range of users of the Union’s semiconductor ecosystem;
(c)
under its operational objective 3:
(i)
develop innovative design libraries for quantum chips;
(ii)
support the development of new or existing pilot lines, clean rooms and foundries for prototyping and producing quantum chips for the integration of quantum circuits and control electronics;
(iii)
develop facilities for testing and validating advanced quantum chips produced by the pilot lines, with a view to closing the innovation feedback loop between designers, producers and users of quantum components;
(d)
under its operational objective 4:
(i)
strengthen capacities and offer a wide range of expertise to the stakeholders, including end-user start-ups and SMEs, facilitating access to and the effective use of the capacities and facilities referred to in this Article;
(ii)
address the knowledge and skills shortage and mismatch by attracting, mobilising and retaining new talent on research, design and production and supporting the emergence of a suitably skilled workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects up to the postdoctoral level for strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem, including by offering suitable training opportunities for students, for example dual study programmes and student orientation, in addition to reskilling and upskilling of workers;
(e)
under its operational objective 5:
(i)
improve the leverage effect of the Union budget spending and achieving a higher multiplier effect in terms of attracting private-sector financing;
(ii)
provide support to companies facing difficulties in accessing finance, and address the need to underpin the economic resilience throughout the Union and the Member States;
(iii)
accelerate and improve accessibility to investment in the field of chip design, semiconductor manufacturing and integration technologies, and leverage funding from both the public and the private sectors, while increasing the security of supply and the resilience of the semiconductor ecosystem for the whole semiconductor value chain.
Synergies with Union programmes
The Initiative shall be implemented in synergy with Union programmes in accordance with Annex III. The Commission shall ensure that the achievement of the objectives is not hampered when leveraging the complementary character of the Initiative with Union programmes.
European chips infrastructure consortiums
1. For the purpose of implementing actions funded under the Initiative, a legal entity may be established in the form of a European chips infrastructure consortium (ECIC) in accordance with this Article. More than one ECIC may be established.
2. An ECIC shall:
(a)
have legal personality from the date of entry into force of the Commission implementing act referred to in paragraph 5;
(b)
have, in each Member State concerned, the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal entities under the national law of that Member State and, in particular, the capacity to acquire, own and dispose of movable property, immovable property and IP, conclude contracts and be a party to legal proceedings;
(c)
have a single statutory seat, which shall be located on the territory of a Member State;
(d)
be established by at least three members (founding members), namely Member States, or public or private legal entities from at least three Member States, or a combination thereof, with a view to achieving broad representation across the Union;
(e)
ensure that, following the adoption of the implementing act referred to in paragraph 5 establishing the ECIC, other Member States may join it as members at any time, that other public or private legal entities may join it as members at any time on fair and reasonable terms specified in the statutes of the ECIC and that Member States that do not provide a financial or a non-financial contribution may join it as observers without voting rights, by notifying the ECIC;
(f)
appoint a coordinator.
3. The coordinator of a potential ECIC shall, on behalf of all of the founding members, submit an application to the Commission in writing. That application shall contain the following:
(a)
a request to the Commission to establish an ECIC, including a list of founding members that are forming the consortium;
(b)
a description of the principal tasks, activities and necessary resources needed to complete the actions set out in the application;
(c)
the draft statutes of the ECIC, which shall include at least the following elements:
(i)
the duration of and procedure for winding-up in accordance with Article 10;
(ii)
the liability regime in accordance with Article 8;
(iii)
the statutory seat and name of the ECIC;
(iv)
the scope of the ECIC’s tasks and activities;
(v)
the membership, including the conditions of and procedure for changes in membership;
(vi)
the budget, including the arrangements for financial and in-kind contributions from its members;
(vii)
ownership of the results;
(viii)
governance, including the decision-making process and specific roles;
(ix)
if applicable, voting rights;
(d)
a declaration by the host Member State on whether it recognises the ECIC as an international body within the meaning of Article 143(1), point (g), and Article 151(1), point (b), of Directive 2006/112/EC, and as an international organisation within the meaning of Article 11(1), point (b), of Directive (EU) 2020/262, from its date of establishment, subject to limits and conditions of the exemptions provided for in those provisions, which shall be laid down in an agreement between the members of the ECIC;
(e)
a description detailing how the actions taken by the ECIC are to contribute to the relevant objectives set out in Article 4, including an overview of the expected impact of potential public funding;
(f)
a statement to the effect that the ECIC is to carry out its activities in accordance with sound budgetary principles for the exercise of its financial responsibility.
4. The Commission shall assess the applications on the basis of all of the following criteria:
(a)
the appropriate competences, know-how and capabilities of the proposed founding members of the ECIC on semiconductors;
(b)
the appropriate management capacity, staff and resources necessary to carry out its statutory purpose;
(c)
the operational and legal means to apply the administrative, contractual and financial management rules laid down at Union level;
(d)
the appropriate financial viability corresponding to the level of Union funds it will be called upon to manage and demonstrated, where appropriate, through accounting documents and bank statements;
(e)
the contributions of the members of the ECIC that would be made available to the ECIC, and related arrangements;
(f)
the openness of the ECIC to new members;
(g)
the ability of the ECIC to ensure coverage of the needs of the Union’s semiconductor value chain, including start-ups and SMEs;
(h)
the contribution to the relevant objectives set out in Article 4 of the action proposed to be implemented, in particular its contribution to ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the Union’s semiconductor sector.
5. The Commission shall adopt an implementing act on the basis of the criteria set out in paragraph 4 either recognising an applicant as an ECIC or rejecting the application. The Commission shall notify the founding members accordingly. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 38(2).
6. The implementing act establishing the ECIC shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union .
7. Amendments to the statutes of the ECIC shall comply with and contribute to the objectives of this Regulation. The ECIC shall notify such amendments to the Commission within 10 days of adoption. The notifications shall contain the following:
(a)
the text of the amendments proposed or, where appropriate, adopted, including the date on which they enter into force; and
(b)
the amended consolidated version of the statutes of the ECIC.
The Commission may object to such amendments within 60 days of receipt of such notification, giving reasons why the amendments do not meet the requirements of this Regulation.
The amendments shall take effect after expiry of the period referred to in the second subparagraph, after the Commission has waived its right to object or after the Commission has revoked its objection.
8. An ECIC shall produce an annual activity report, containing a technical description of its activities and a financial statement. The annual activity report shall include an assessment of the environmental and social impact of the actions funded and shall be transmitted to the Commission and made publicly available. The Commission may provide recommendations regarding the matters covered in the annual activity report. The Commission shall send the ECICs’ annual activity reports to the European Parliament and to the European Semiconductor Board without undue delay.
9. Where a Member State considers that the ECIC has refused to accept a new member to the consortium without providing sufficient reasons for such a refusal on the basis of the fair and reasonable terms specified in its statutes, that Member State may bring the matter to the attention of the Public Authorities Board of the Chips Joint Undertaking. The Public Authorities Board of the Chips Joint Undertaking shall, if necessary, recommend that the ECIC take remedial action, such as an amendment to its statutes, in accordance with Article 137, point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.
Liability of the ECIC
1. An ECIC shall be liable for its debts.
2. The financial liability of the members for the debts of the ECIC shall be limited to their respective contributions provided to the ECIC. The members may specify in the statutes of the ECIC that they will assume a fixed liability above their respective contributions or unlimited liability.
3. The Union shall not be liable for an ECIC’s debts.
Applicable law and jurisdiction of the ECIC
1. The setting-up and internal functioning of an ECIC shall be governed by:
(a)
Union law, in particular this Regulation;
(b)
national law of the Member State where the ECIC has its statutory seat in the case of matters not, or only partly, regulated by Union law;
(c)
the statutes of the ECIC and their implementing rules.
2. Without prejudice to the cases in which the Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice) has jurisdiction under the Treaties, the national law of the Member State where the ECIC has its statutory seat shall determine the competent jurisdiction for the resolution of disputes among the members in relation to the ECIC, between the members and the ECIC, and between an ECIC and third parties.
Winding-up of the ECIC
1. The statutes of an ECIC shall determine the procedure to be followed for the winding-up of that ECIC following a decision of its members.
2. The insolvency rules of the Member State where the ECIC has its statutory seat shall apply in the event that the ECIC is unable to pay its debts.
European network of competence centres in semiconductors
1. For the purposes of the Initiative’s operational objective 4, a European network of competence centres in semiconductors, system integration and design (the ‘network’) shall be established. The network shall be composed of the competence centres selected by the Chips Joint Undertaking in accordance with paragraph 3.
2. Competence centres shall perform all or some of the following activities to the benefit of and in close cooperation with the Union industry, in particular SMEs and mid-caps, as well as research and technology organisations, universities, and the public sector and other relevant stakeholders across the semiconductor value chain:
(a)
providing access to design services and design tools under the Initiative’s operational objective 1, as well as to the pilot lines supported under the Initiative’s operational objective 2;
(b)
raising awareness and providing the necessary know-how, expertise and skills to the stakeholders for helping them accelerate the development of new semiconductor technologies, semiconductor manufacturing, equipment, design options and system concepts as well as the integration of new semiconductor technologies, by using effectively the infrastructure and other available resources of the network;
(c)
raising awareness and providing or ensuring access to expertise, know-how and services, including system design readiness, new and existing pilot lines and supporting actions necessary to build skills and competences supported by the Initiative;
(d)
facilitating the transfer of expertise and know-how between Member States and regions encouraging exchanges of skills, knowledge and good practices and encouraging joint programmes;
(e)
developing and managing specific training actions on semiconductor technologies and their applications to support the development of the talent pool, by skilling and reskilling, and to increase the number of students as well as the quality of education in relevant fields of studies up to PhD level at schools and universities located in the Union by facilitating connections between students and semiconductor companies across the Union, while paying particular attention to women’s participation.
3. Member States shall designate candidate competence centres in accordance with their national procedures, administrative and institutional structures through an open and competitive process.
The work programme of the Chips Joint Undertaking shall set the procedure for establishing competence centres, including the selection criteria as well as further details on the implementation of the tasks and functions referred to in this Article.
The Chips Joint Undertaking shall select the competence centres forming the network.
Member States and the Commission shall maximise synergies with existing competence centres established under other Union initiatives such as the European Digital Innovation Hubs.
4. The competence centres shall have substantial overall autonomy to lay down their organisation, composition and working methods. The organisation, composition and working methods of the competence centres shall comply with and contribute to the objectives of this Regulation and the Initiative.
Implementation
1. The Initiative’s operational objectives 1 to 4 shall be entrusted to the Chips Joint Undertaking and implemented by actions set out in the work programme of the Chips Joint Undertaking.
2. In order to reflect technological change and market developments, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 37 to amend Annex I with regard to the actions set out therein in a manner consistent with the objectives of the Initiative set out in Article 4.
3. In order to ensure effective implementation and evaluation of the Initiative, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 37 to amend Annex II with regard to the measurable indicators to monitor the implementation and to report on the progress of the Initiative towards the achievement of its objectives as set out in Article 4.
4. In order to ensure effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Initiative, the annual activity report of the Chips Joint Undertaking shall include information on matters related to the Initiative’s operational objectives 1 to 4, on the basis of the measurable indicators set out in Annex II.
5. The Commission shall inform the European Semiconductor Board on progress in the implementation of the Initiative’s operational objective 5 on a regular basis.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
