In a world increasingly focused on innovation and technological development, the Valencian Community has a great opportunity in the semiconductor sector to increase its competitiveness. Semiconductors have become a basic element in the production process of all technological sectors and in a context of digital transformation they acquire a more than obvious geostrategic importance. They are essential components for the manufacture of electronic devices such as smartphones, medical equipment and automobiles.
Precisely, in the Valencian Community, the importance of the motor sector is undeniable. It contributes approximately 8% to the GDP and accounts for close to 20% of exports. Data from the Ministry of Innovation and Industry indicate that the annual turnover of the entire automotive cluster in the region amounts to 8.5 billion euros, which reflects its economic impact and its role in the Valencian business fabric. In this context, the Valencian business community has moved intelligently and has been working for some time to position itself in the sector to the point of placing itself in pole position in this race for the future.
With 50% of Spain's human resources in microelectronics and 60% in integrated photonics, more than half of the sector's specialists in our country are concentrated in Valencian lands. Companies such as MaxLinear, Analog Devices, amsOSRAM, Bosch, Digital Health Data, Industrial Governance, DAS Photonics, iPronics, VLC-Photonics/Hitachi are located in Valencia and its metropolitan area.
This abundance of talent and technological capacity makes the Valencian Community a leading hub in the most critical segments of the entire value-added cycle of the sector, especially in talent and microchip design. This, together with the relevance of the sector, makes the commitment to microchips a priority for Valencian industrial policy.
In this hopeful situation, the Valencia Silicon Cluster was born, an initiative that emerged from the business and academic environment in response to the need to generate a positioning of the Valencian semiconductor ecosystem with respect to the initiative of the Spanish Perte of microelectronics, integrated photonics and semiconductors.
Mayte Bacete, president of the cluster, points out that the relations with the central government and the regional executive are exceptional and asks both executives to “do the same thing that the industries that are part of the cluster do: collaborate to carry out the projects and investments. ”.
In May 2022, the Government approved the strategic project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Microelectronics and Semiconductors (Perte Chip); the largest state public financing instrument, endowed with 12,250 million euros, that has been promoted to date in Spain in support of a specific sector of the economy. The objective: to promote and attract investments in the semiconductor industry and technologies related to that field, which will be key to achieving strategic autonomy.
The Valencian Community is by no means immune to the opportunities that arise from the implementation of these instruments. Already in September of last year, the region joined as a founder of the European Semiconductor Alliance (ESRA), which is made up of 27 European regions, four of them Spanish. An alliance that strives to eliminate obstacles that may exist for the strategic development of the industry, improve the legal framework, promote public and private investment, support the exchange of knowledge and develop strong and resilient value chains.
The Valencian Community, within the Perte Chip process, is a leader in talent, highlighted by the Department of Innovation. And proof of this is that it has five multinationals related to the microchip sector and three new Business chairs generated in Valencian universities to strengthen the microchip and semiconductor ecosystem.
The three have financing of 13.8 million euros from Perte, to which 2.5 million euros of private investment are added. Figures that reflect the solidity of the Valencian sector and its ability to position itself as a leader in fundraising in this area.
To all this, we now want to add an international semiconductor campus planned by the Valencian semiconductor cluster and which aspires to obtain 50 million euros of European funds. Carlos G. Triviño, CEO of Industrial Governance and secretary of the Valencia Silicon Cluster, points out that “solid public-private governance and a collaboration framework between public institutions have been built to position the campus; “Now we need to add the financial sector to that governance to consolidate fundamental technological challenges.”
The initiative aims to centralize, in the medium and long term, the strategies of all Valencian institutional, academic, business and social agents in the common purpose of making this a national and international reference in the field of talent in the microchip and semiconductor sector. .
