Statement by Prof. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, on the launch of the APECS pilot line under the EU Chips Act

“We are experiencing profound political, economic, and technological upheaval. Now more than ever, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is called upon to strengthen both our economy and society, enhancing their resilience by turning research findings into practical applications. Microelectronics plays a central role in this mission as a key pillar of digital transformation and a particularly critical industry for Europe's sovereignty and competitiveness.

The upcoming establishment of the EU Chips Act pilot line “Advanced Packaging and Heterogeneous Integration for Electronic Components and Systems” (APECS) marks an important milestone in this regard. This pilot line aims to scale up chiplet technology innovations and transfer these into industrial processes, expanding Europe's research and production capacities for semiconductors. With a total funding of 730 million euros, this vital project will be implemented over a period of 4.5 years by Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD). Launched by Fraunhofer in 2017 as a national platform for microelectronics research, FMD is thus developing into a European flagship. In close collaboration with European partners, Fraunhofer institutes and Leibniz institutes will use the APECS pilot line to offer industrial companies, SMEs and start-ups easy access to cutting-edge technologies while creating stable value chains. This is made possible by substantial funding from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), many German states, co-financing from Chips Joint Undertaking, and additional contributions from other European countries.

The expertise in microelectronics pooled in this project could give rise to an innovation catalyst in Germany, accelerating technology transfer and strengthening Europe's technological resilience while boosting the global competitiveness of the semiconductor industry.”