Chips from the North: Connecting Design and Manufacturing in Europe

On 23–24 March, the Chips from the North event in Helsinki, organised by FiCCC, brought together Europe’s semiconductor community to explore available support for companies across the value chain.

Key initiatives from the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU)—including Pilot Lines and the European Chip Design Platform (EuroCDP)—were presented, offering practical insights into how SMEs and startups can access design tools, expertise, and manufacturing infrastructure.

The aCCCess project was also showcased during the event by partner Minalogic.

Design Capabilities Take Centre Stage

A strong message throughout the event was the importance of design. As Jari Kinaret noted:

“The ability to manufacture chips is not worth much unless you know which chips you want to manufacture.”

This underlines the need to strengthen design expertise alongside manufacturing access—an area where Competence Centres can provide direct support to companies.

EuroCDP: From Idea to Fabrication

EuroCDP is being developed as a one-stop platform to support chip design in Europe. It offers:

• Cloud-based access to EDA tools and IP

• Design Enablement Teams across Europe

• Upcoming incubation and acceleration programmes

With €220 million in funding, companies will be able to:

• Develop proof-of-concept designs (up to €100,000)

• Bring designs closer to manufacturing (up to €8 million, including pilot line access)

Pilot Lines: Testing and Scaling Innovation

The Pilot Lines presented in Helsinki provide companies with access to advanced technologies and pre-industrial environments:

• NanoIC (led by IMEC): advanced logic, memory, and next-generation nodes

• FAMES (coordinated by CEA-Leti): FD-SOI, RF components, and power management

• APECS: advanced packaging and chiplet integration

• PixEurope and WBG: photonics and power electronics

Together, they help bridge the gap between research and industrial production.

Growing Momentum in the Nordics

The Nordic region—Finland, Sweden, and Norway—continues to show strong growth:

• €5.7 billion in revenue (2023)

• 22,000 jobs

• Over 300 companies, mostly SMEs

Finland, building on players like Nokia, is particularly active in chip design, photonics, quantum technologies, and power electronics.

Access to EuroCDP and Pilot Lines is being rolled out through open calls and upcoming funding opportunities. Initial programmes and access calls are already underway, with broader funding expected to follow.

The event highlighted how Europe is strengthening the link between chip design and manufacturing access. For companies, this means clearer pathways to develop, test, and scale semiconductor innovations—with Competence Centres acting as key entry points into the ecosystem.