PR imec Germany
/Baden-Württemberg attracts imec to lead development of chiplet-based technology for automotive applications

Press release

Baden-Württemberg attracts imec to lead development of chiplet-based technology for automotive applications

New partnership enables an innovative network together with academia and industry partners to strengthen digital sovereignty in Europe

Quote sheet 

Bart Placklé, Vice President of Automotive Technologies at imec

"Thanks to imec's new competence center, imec’s Automotive Chiplet Program (ACP), a global pre-competitive, collaborative research effort to explore groundbreaking new chiplet architectures tailored to the unique needs of the automotive sector, will receive unparalleled expertise right here in Baden-Württemberg. By accelerating and derisking the path from technology development to implementation, we are poised to drive innovation and excellence in the industry.”

Moritz Gräter, CEO Innovation Park AI (IPAI)

“The announcement of imec's German headquarters in Baden-Württemberg at our IPAI SPACES in Heilbronn marks a significant milestone for our innovation platform. This expansion does not only significantly strengthen our existing ecosystem but also fortifies Europe's position across the entire AI value chain. At IPAI, imec will find all the necessary prerequisites, merging its expertise with data and industry insights from small and medium-sized enterprises, hidden champions, and global leaders in their fields. This partnership will enhance our community and improve opportunities and outcomes for future generations of innovative excellence.” 

Prof. Reinhold R. Geilsdörfer, CEO Dieter Schwarz Foundation 

"We are delighted that imec, a leading international chip research institute, will be coming to Heilbronn. This is of great importance for the further development of our diverse ecosystem and an asset for the research landscape that is currently being established."

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

“Chiplet technology is a key component for the next generation of semicon-ductors. We expect this new technology to fuel innovation across industries, be it automotive, aerospace or artificial intelligence. 

In the recently launched APECS project, Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD) has teamed up with European partners to develop the technological foundations for pilot production of chiplets. We believe that establishing a national chiplet center is the next logical step. Based on industry-specific boundary conditions, this is where we will analyze use cases together with companies, derive technological solutions and align the pilot line being estab-lished in the APECS projects with industry needs.

This will be a decisive milestone on the way to becoming an international leader in the development and production of chiplets and thus an important contribution to the technological sovereignty and economic strength of Germany and Europe. The close collaboration between research and industry across Europe, as exemplified by Fraunhofer, will enable us to optimally lever-age the innovative strength of chiplet technology. This will allow us to quickly transfer new developments into applications, thereby achieving a real compet-itive advantage on an international level.”

Jan S. Hesthaven, President of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

“Imec’s siting in Baden-Württemberg will significantly strengthen Germany and its microelectronics sector. It will particularly benefit the areas of mobility, medical engineering, robotics, and industry 4.0, to name a few. Baden-Württemberg with its numerous automotive companies and suppliers is an ideal customer-specific location for imec. Thanks to our long-standing collaboration, we at KIT know very well what valuable partner imec is. This siting will massively push both Germany’s and Europe’s strategic autonomy in the current geopolitical environment.”

Michael Budde, President Bosch Mobility Electronics

“Microelectronics has become indispensable in many industries. In Baden-Württemberg in particular, with its strong automotive sector, it is an important driver of innovation. The establishment of imec is very good news for the national semiconductor network and the European semiconductor industry as a whole. It links the regional automotive ecosystem with a world-leading, independent research institute with a high level of expertise in semiconductor design and integration. In addition, the establishment of imec strengthens semiconductor expertise in Baden-Württemberg and builds bridges between research and industrialization. imec and Bosch have been working together successfully on important strategic innovation topics since 2022.”

Dr. Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG

“As a manufacturer of exclusive sports cars, the development of customer-oriented software functions is of great importance to us. The use of chiplets will enable us to create brand-differentiating software solutions, and imec setting up in Baden-Württemberg gives us the opportunity to expand our cooperation with them. This means that we will be able to work together ever more closely on future-oriented and brand-differentiating software solutions.”

Christophe Périllat, Valeo’s Chief Executive Officer

"To meet the computing requirements for the Software-Defined Vehicle, an open and heterogeneous chiplet architecture promises to deliver a new level of cost and performance. That's why Valeo is a founding member of the Automotive Chiplet Program. Chiplet architectures will require new skills for automotive developers, which imec will now grow in the heartland of automotive history, Baden-Württemberg. Valeo, with its Mobility Tech Center near Stuttgart is thrilled by this initiative and will closely collaborate with the new team."

Dr. Thomas Stammler, Chief Technology Officer and member of the management of ZEISS SMT

"The strategic partnership between Imec and ZEISS emphasizes how close collaboration among European partners accelerates innovations and strengthens Europe's position in the semiconductor ecosystem. The semiconductor industry consists of a large network of partners, and only together is it possible to further advance the innovative technologies of tomorrow."

About imec

Imec is a world-leading research and innovation center in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Imec leverages its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure and its team of more than 6.000 employees and top researchers, for R&D in advanced semiconductor and system scaling, silicon photonics, artificial intelligence, beyond 5G communications and sensing technologies, and in application domains such as health and life sciences, mobility, industry 4.0, agrofood, smart cities, sustainable energy, education, … Imec unites world-industry leaders across the semiconductor value chain, Flanders-based and international tech, pharma, medical and ICT companies, start-ups, and academia and knowledge centers. Imec is headquartered in Leuven (Belgium), and has research sites across Belgium, in the Netherlands, the UK and the USA, and representation in 3 continents. In 2023, imec's revenue (P&L) totaled 941 million euro.

Further information on imec can be found at www.imec-int.com.

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