Recently, the European Commission approved a microelectronics research program, which was jointly tendered by France, Germany, Italy and Germany. Under the plan, public authorities will provide up to 1.75 billion euros (about $2 billion) in funding to support research and innovation. The entire project will be completed in 2024.

The overall goal of the project is to develop innovative components and technologies for downstream applications, such as home appliances, self-driving cars, and commercial and industrial equipment, including the Internet of Things.

According to the project, France has sought approval for funding of 355 million euros, Germany 8.2 billion euros, Italy 524 million euros, and Britain 48 million euros.

The research program covers five technical areas including energy-efficient ICs, power semiconductors, sensors, optical devices and compound semiconductor materials. These five technical areas will cover a total of 40 sub-projects of 29 direct project members. Benefiting companies and institutions include: STMicroelectronics, Globalfoundries, CEA-Leti, Soitec, Bosch, X-Fab. Since Belgium and the Netherlands are not part of the program, NXP Semiconductors is not directly included but can participate in specific sub-projects.