Europe Launches €700 Million Semiconductor Facility to Challenge Asian Chip Dominance
Leuven, Monday, 9 February 2026.
The European Union has opened NanoIC, its largest semiconductor pilot line, with €700 million in funding at Belgium’s IMEC research center. This groundbreaking facility becomes Europe’s first to deploy advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography machines capable of producing chips beyond 2 nanometers—technology critical for artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. The initiative represents a strategic shift toward European semiconductor independence, reducing reliance on Asian suppliers while accelerating innovation from laboratory research to commercial production for startups and major corporations alike.
A €2.5 Billion Strategic Investment in European Chip Independence
The NanoIC pilot line represents the cornerstone of a massive €2.5 billion total investment designed to establish European semiconductor sovereignty [1]. Beyond the EU’s €700 million contribution, the facility has secured €700 million from national and regional governments, with the remainder funded by ASML and other industry partners [1]. This comprehensive funding structure demonstrates unprecedented coordination between European institutions and private sector partners to challenge Asia’s semiconductor dominance. The facility was officially inaugurated on February 9, 2026, by Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, and Flanders’ Minister-President Matthias Diependaele [1], marking a pivotal moment in European technology policy.
Revolutionary Technology: Beyond 2-Nanometer Chip Manufacturing
NanoIC distinguishes itself as the first European facility to deploy the most advanced Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine, focusing on designing and manufacturing chips using technology beyond two nanometers [1][6]. This cutting-edge EUV technology prints microchips using light with wavelengths of 13.5 nanometers, approaching the range of X-rays [5]. The facility’s technological capabilities extend to advanced process design kits (PDKs), with the recent launch of the A14 pathfinding PDK on February 1, 2026, which enables exploration of scaling at the 1.4-nanometer node [2]. The A14 PDK achieves remarkable efficiency gains, delivering an 18% area improvement and 7% power reduction compared to N2 technology at equivalent frequency and cell density [2].
Applications Driving Next-Generation Innovation
The semiconductor innovations emerging from NanoIC target critical markets experiencing explosive growth, particularly artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, healthcare, and 6G mobile technology [1][6]. These applications demand unprecedented chip performance and efficiency, requirements that traditional semiconductor manufacturing struggles to meet [GPT]. The facility’s embedded DRAM (eDRAM) system exploration PDK provides a virtual platform specifically designed for data-intensive and AI workloads [2], addressing the memory bottlenecks that constrain modern computing systems. Marie Garcia Bardon, department director at IMEC and work package leader within the NanoIC project, emphasizes that ‘PDKs like A14 and eDRAM are catalysts for learning and design…This approach accelerates learning, de-risks architectural and design innovation, and helps designers prepare for advanced logic nodes and embedded memory technologies well before hardware becomes available’ [2].
Strategic Infrastructure and Global Partnerships
Located at IMEC’s Leuven headquarters in Belgium, NanoIC operates within a 2,000-square-meter cleanroom expansion that forms part of IMEC’s total cleanroom capacity exceeding 12,000 square meters [6]. The facility follows an open access model, enabling startups, researchers, small and medium enterprises, and large organizations to test new chip designs, equipment, and processes at near-industrial scale before full production [1][6]. Giuseppe Fiorentino, program manager for NanoIC, explains that ‘by making these PDKs broadly accessible, we lower barriers for universities, industry, and start-ups to engage with next-generation technologies’ [2]. The project involves strategic partnerships across Europe, including France’s CEA-Leti, Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre, Romania’s Centre for Surface Science and Nanotechnology, and Ireland’s Tyndall National Institute [5][6]. IMEC CEO Luc Van den hove announced that construction of an additional 4,000-square-meter cleanroom will begin soon, with plans to integrate more than 100 new tools across IMEC and partner sites over the next five years [6].