Photonic chip project: Barcelona’s Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) has been chosen to lead a European project to create photonic chips, with a budget of 150 million euros (US$157 million). The Netherlands, which will also play an important role, will invest 133 million euros (US$140 million), mainly in two chip production facilities. The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Eindhoven University of Technology, and the University of Twente will be involved in the development.

The total sum invested will amount to 380 million euros (US$399 million), half of which will come from the European Union (EU) and the other half from ten countries in the bloc and the United Kingdom. This investment is set to tap into the global photonic market, which is expected to reach 1.5 trillion euros (1.57 trillion dollars) by the end of the decade, according to ICFO.

Conquering 20% of the global semiconductor market share

The project is earmarked by the EU as a strategic initiative to strengthen the continent’s technological sovereignty, capacity-building, and industrial competitiveness. One of the goals of the EU is to “conquer a 20% market share in the semiconductor industry and to build first-of-its-kind facilities,” according to the European Commission.

Unlike traditional electronic chips that use electrons, photonic chips rely on photons. They offer the advantages of faster data transmission, greater miniaturization of integrated circuits, and reduced heating of their components, which in turn lowers the need for cooling and energy consumption in computers and data centres.

In the future, photonic chips will enable the creation of more affordable, faster, and energy-efficient devices tailored to specific applications. These advancements could lead to earlier disease diagnoses, safer self-driving cars, and more efficient food production, among other benefits.

“It is the first Photonic Chip Pilot Line in Europe that unifies diverse materials, processes, and integration techniques that will allow the development and demonstration of devices and systems for all applications where Photonics is a key technology,” says Valerio Pruneri, ICFO Group Leader and Director of the pilot line.

Faster and more efficient chips

Using photons instead of electrons, the new chips will be faster and more efficient. The pilot line aims to “bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial-scale production, facilitating the development of reliable, scalable, and cost-effective photonic integrated circuits solutions,” the European Commission has reported.

Among the candidates to develop photonic chip technology, an international consortium led by ICFO has been chosen, comprising both research centres and companies.

The budget comes from the Perte Chip, one of the economic recovery projects activated after the COVID-19 pandemic using the European Next Generation funds. The EU is also funding innovative initiatives through other programs, such as Horizon Europe; earlier this year, the EU-backed consortium financed a 5 million euro project to develop efficient sensors for satellite navigation.

Though international chip competition

Europe competes with the United States and China in this emerging technology. Nonetheless, Europe has already proved its competitiveness in the sector. In 2022, researchers from Denmark transmitted information equivalent to all global internet traffic through a photonic chip and a 7.9-kilometre fibre optic cable, illustrating the technology’s potential.

The ICFO is regarded as one of the leading scientific institutions in photonics. Over the past fifteen years, the European Research Council, the continent’s most competitive institution for funding excellence projects, has selected fifty ICFO projects valued at around 100 million euros.

“The project aims to foster collaboration among research institutions, Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and large corporations across Europe, driving innovation, and accelerating the commercialization of photonic integrated circuits technologies,” explains the European Commission.

“By doing so, it will not only enhance Europe’s competitive edge in a key technological domain but also contribute significantly to the continent’s economic resilience and strategic autonomy in critical technologies conditions,” they conclude.