Jari Kinaret

In 2024, the Chips Joint Undertaking continued to implement its expanded mandate under the Chips Act, becoming the central instrument for executing the Chips for Europe Initiative. With a reinforced strategic focus and a commitment budget of over €1 billion, the JU advanced both research and capacity-building activities essential to Europe’s technological sovereignty in semiconductors and electronic components.

Throughout the year, the Chips JU launched 13 calls covering 16 topics. Out of 101 proposals submitted, 98 were deemed eligible, and 48 were selected for funding. These included both research-oriented ECS calls and strategic capacity-building actions under the Chips for Europe Initiative. A particular highlight was the JU’s first international call - run jointly with the Republic of Korea - which resulted in four low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) projects, fostering collaboration between Korean and European partners.

Significant progress was made in establishing the core infrastructure of the Initiative. Four pilot line proposals, submitted to calls launched in 2023, were selected for funding and negotiated in 2024, with Hosting Agreements and Grant Agreements signed for three of them - NanoIC, APECS and FAMES - by year-end and the fourth expected in early 2025. A fifth pilot line call, focused on integrated photonics, was launched, evaluated and a proposal selected for funding in 2024 negotiations and signature of the Hosting agreement and the grants expected in early 2025.

In addition to the pilot lines, the Chips JU launched several other cornerstone actions under the Initiative. These included calls to establish a network of Chips Competence Centres (CCCs), with 27 centres selected across 25 countries. It also initiated actions to implement a pan-European Design Platform. Furthermore, two calls were issued to set up Framework Partnership Agreements in the area of quantum chip technologies - addressing both stability-oriented and high-quality trapped-ion pilot developments. While most of the proposals submitted to these actions had their evaluation and selection for funding in 2024, the quantum FPAs were evaluated early 2025.

Alongside the Chips for Europe Initiative actions, the JU continued to implement its Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) programme, supporting advanced research and innovation projects across the semiconductor value chain. In 2024, 21 grants from the 2023 ECS calls were signed, representing nearly €237 million in EU contributions. The ECS pillar remained essential in fostering technology transfer, reinforcing industrial competitiveness, and addressing application domains from mobility and energy to health and communications. A total of 792 beneficiaries participated in ECS-funded projects in 2024, with SMEs representing 24% of participants and receiving 21% of the EU funding.

The JU also has brought to successful conclusion several research projects in 2024, delivering impactful results. Projects like IMOCO4.E, MATQu, TRANSACT, and TRANSFORM demonstrated technical breakthroughs in intelligent motion control, quantum device materials, distributed safety-critical systems, and wide band-gap power electronics, with direct applications across the industrial, automotive, and digital sectors.

Operationally, the JU scaled effectively to meet its broadened mandate, closing the year with 38 staff members. Financial execution remained high, with 99% of commitment appropriations implemented. Governance and strategic alignment continued to be strengthened through transparent performance monitoring and coordination with EU policy objectives.

By combining robust research funding with transformative infrastructure investments, the Chips JU in 2024 laid critical groundwork to enhance Europe’s competitiveness and resilience in semiconductor technologies, supporting the EU’s green and digital transitions and securing long-term strategic autonomy.