DSIT announces huge boost for British semiconductor scientists and businesses through access to the EU’s ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’ and Horizon Europe
Yesterday the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced that British semiconductor researchers and businesses now have enhanced access to research funding backed by the UK government and Horizon Europe, this follows on from the UK having joined the EU’s ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’.
Access to the one of the Chips Joint Undertaking’s funds is being backed by an initial £5 million this year from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and delivered by Innovate UK. An additional £30 million is due to support UK participation in further research between 2025 and 2027. You can see more about how to access this funding below
By joining the fund and contributing in the same way as all other countries who take part, the UK sector has enhanced access to bid for funding support from the €1.3 billion pot, funded by Horizon Europe.
The UK has joined the initiative as a “Participating State”, allowing the country to collaborate more closely with European partners on semiconductor innovation. As a Participating State, the UK will have a role in setting research priorities and funding decisions as the fund evolves in the years ahead.
This includes the opportunity for the UK to be a part of a new funding opportunity with the Republic of Korea to research ways to combine semiconductor chips to improve performance through advanced packaging – which the UK-Republic of Korea Semiconductor Framework, signed in November last year.
What does this mean for industry?
The programme is giving UK companies and research institutions unrivalled opportunities to lead global work to develop new technologies and research projects, in areas from health to AI. This follows the UK joining Horizon Europe through a bespoke new agreement with the EU last year.
Tens of thousands of UK companies are now eligible for Horizon Europe grants, which are worth £450,000 to a business on average. UK firms already benefitting from Horizon funding include Nova Innovation, whose consortium won over £17 million to develop tidal energy in Orkney, and South Yorkshire tech firm The Floow who are part of a project awarded just under £3 million, looking into road safety.
How can industry get involved?
Information on how to access this funding can be found here.
The deadline for Phase 1 applications this year is 14 May.
Jari Kinaret, Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking, will provide an online information session at 1pm on 19 March 2024. Sign-up is available via this link .
Innovate UK will also be hosting an information session on the 25 March. Here’s the link to the event on 25 March to add .
Innovate UK has a Horizon Europe hub on its website with information on upcoming funding calls and details on how to receive advice and support from National Contact Points.
It also offers travel grants for SMEs who want to build networks in Europe.
British research has elsewhere led global efforts to push semiconductor technology forward in fields like “silicon photonics”, which creates faster chips by using light instead of electricity, and compound semiconductors, which enable improved performance over silicon in key applications such as power transmission and radiofrequency communications.
We are excited for the UK to participate in the EU Chips Joint Undertaking. This will enable us to work with key EU partners to advance and commercialize high voltage power electronics we develop within in the IKC REWIRE, as well as high power high frequency RF technology we develop within UK, US and European Space Agency (ESA) programmes.
You can read the full press release on the GOV.UK website.
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