Belgium invests millions of euros to build Europe's first photonic chip factory

A Belgian company is set to invest hundreds of millions of euros to set up an advanced photonic chip centre in Flanders, a move expected to bring 500 jobs to the region.

The new facility will be located at the former site of BelGaN, once Belgium’s only chipmaker, which went bankrupt last year. The entire 10,000-square-meter factory in Oudenaarde and its machinery were acquired by Thema Foundries BV through its subsidiary Bellaser BV.

Thema Foundries BV plans to turn the facility into Europe's first fully integrated photonic chip manufacturing and services center, with an initial investment of more than 200 million euros.

Thema Foundries BV’s development plan is to focus on integrated photonics, rather than GaN chips. Unlike traditional chips that use electrons, photonic chips use light particles (photons) to transmit and process information. This approach promises to create faster and more energy-efficient chips.

These properties are increasingly important for energy-intensive fields such as data centers and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Thema Foundries BV believes photonic chips can play a transformative role in reducing energy consumption.

“The energy demands of data centers have become a global concern. Photonic chips can disrupt this trend,” the company claims.

The renovated factory in Oudenaarde will function as a state-of-the-art semiconductor facility, including photonic chip manufacturing, slicing, packaging and testing, in addition to research and development activities.

The project is supported by key partners, including technical support from IMEC (a world leader in nanoelectronics) and advanced laser technology support from New Photonics (which is essential for photonic applications).

In addition, the prestigious photonics research group of Ghent University is also participating in the project, contributing its expertise in silicon photonics and its applications in telecommunications, sensors, medical devices and advanced computing.

Although the exact investment amount has not been disclosed, industry experts estimate the final figure could be in the hundreds of millions of euros.

Thema Foundries BV is expected to seek to expand its capital base in the coming months by attracting international partners. The company emphasizes that it will ensure technological sovereignty for Belgium as well as for Europe.

The emergence of the project marks Belgium’s return to chip manufacturing and fills the void left by BelGaN. In addition to its symbolic value, the project is also a tangible step in connecting Flanders’ research strengths with industrial applications.

For the Oudenaarde area, this new facility has the potential to become another strong economic driver in the future./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/bi-dau-tu-hang-trieu-euro-xay-nha-may-chip-quang-tu-dau-tien-cua-chau-au-post1057075.vnp