The third day of SEMICON Europe 2024 in Munich was marked by a strong focus on promoting the Portuguese ecosystem and establishing new strategic partnerships for the semiconductor industry. Agenda Microeletrónica took advantage of the event to strengthen its national presence and explore international collaborations with important organizations.
The representatives of the Microelectronics Agenda maintained an intense networking activity, with contacts established with various European entities. These included the Economic Chamber of Carinthia (Austria), the HEPA Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (Hungary), the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (Latvia) and the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster (Czech Republic). These organizations, which share links with the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), discussed possibilities for future collaboration and partnerships that can boost the microelectronics sector in an innovative and sustainable way.
The EEN network, through the AIDA JRC, can play a key role in promoting Portuguese capabilities in future projects, as well as being a relevant interface for leveraging strategic links between companies in the various countries.
Strategic contacts with global companies
The list of companies that visited the Agenda Microeletrónica stand reflects the growing prestige and interest in the Portuguese semiconductor sector. Among the most significant interactions were meetings with companies such as JANtronic (Germany), Blueteste (Germany), eCeramix (Germany), Chroma (Netherlands) and Nanores Lab (Poland). In addition, Critical Manufacturing from Portugal was present, underlining the national industry’s commitment to technological excellence.
Other highlights included visits from companies such as Silicoop (France), Mitsui & Co. Benelux S.A. (Belgium), Techno Horizon Co. (Japan) and Techno horizon CO (JP), reinforcing the importance of maintaining a diversified network of global partners.
Forums and debates: smart mobility and sustainability
The Global GAAC Summit – Smart Mobility Forum, held in the morning, addressed crucial issues for the future of sustainable mobility. The forum brought together experts from the automotive and electronics industries to discuss how semiconductors are key to the development of cutting-edge technologies, from high-performance automotive computing to advanced sensing and imaging systems. Bart Placklé, from imec, and Jens Landgraf, from Sony Semiconductor Solutions Europe, were some of the speakers who shared their perspectives on the sector.
The final panel moderated by Andreas Aal from Volkswagen, with contributions from leaders from Capgemini, IBM Research and Fraunhofer IIS, focused on the importance of creating a robust European ecosystem for next-generation semiconductors.
In the afternoon, the session on Electrification and Power Semiconductors delved into the semiconductor innovations that are driving the transition to a more sustainable energy society. Experts from companies such as Robert Bosch GmbH and STMicroelectronics shared advances in silicon carbide (SiC) devices, which are key to electric mobility and renewable energy sources. Production challenges and the expansion of SiC technologies were central themes, with a panel discussion highlighting strategies to strengthen the European semiconductor market.
The third day of SEMICON Europe 2024 was undoubtedly an important milestone for the promotion of the Microelectronics Agenda and Portuguese innovation. With an agenda full of strategic contacts and high-level forums, Portugal reaffirmed itself as an emerging and dynamic partner in the global semiconductor industry.
Created as part of the mobilizing agendas of the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Microelectronics Agenda aims to strengthen the production and innovation capacity of the national semiconductor and microelectronics industry. It involves a group of 17 partners and seeks to help position Portugal at the forefront of the semiconductor management, production, distribution and recycling market, capable of supplying Europe and other countries worldwide.
The 25 new products, processes and services resulting from the Agenda aim to transform the microelectronics sector and contribute to its resilience, competitiveness and ecological sustainability, and will enable the Portuguese ecosystem to monitor and anticipate the sector’s needs.
The Microelectronics Agenda has a total eligible budget of €67,493,749.21, of which €30,048,411.91 is funded by the NextGenerationEU initiative. With the completion of the project scheduled for June 30, 2025, Portugal intends to establish itself as a leader in the global semiconductor sector, having already executed more than 60% of the budget and made significant progress in product development, sustainability and workforce training.
