Semiconductor companies could invest up to €1.6bn in Catalonia in coming years

The global semiconductor crisis mobilized the European Union to look for a 'Made in EU' chip. Now, Catalonia is positioning itself as a key player in this market, where over 22 companies could invest up to €1.6 billion in the coming years, as announced by the Catalan president on Friday morning.

Meeting with industry representatives in the Catalan government HQ, Pere Aragonès said that if these investments became a reality, the sector could create up to 1,800 new job positions in the next two to three years.

In recent years, semiconductor businesses have been interested in the territory. Currently, there are 86 companies focused on this market, 12 research and development centers, and six universities in a sector that employs around 4,400 people in Catalonia.

"We are sure we have the necessary tools to make a step forward," Aragonès said to businesspeople at the event that took place in the Sant Jordi hall.

"These figures are excellent news," the leader said before adding that we should "trust our potential, which demonstrates our current strength, but also the strength of our good starting point to keep growing." 

In Catalonia, eight out of 10 semiconductor companies are small or medium-sized businesses, according to the Catalan trade and investment group Acció. At the same time, 40% of these enterprises have a revenue of over €10 million annually.

The industry currently has a revenue of around €160 million, but the government believes the "sector's potential is infinite."

This amount does not include the recently announced investments from semiconductor company Intel. The American company will spend €400 million to open a chip design lab in partnership with Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC).

Other recent announcements also include Cisco's plan to open a chip design center, but so far, the actual investment amount has not been announced.

In late October, Monolithic Power Systems announced plans to expand by 1,200m2 their Catalan capital design center located close to the upper section of Diagonal Avenue, where universities and the financial district are located.

Company sources said they chose their current location to be "close to universities" to work alongside them, especially UPC.