The Generalitat of Catalonia establishes the foundation that will manage the chip factory

The Catalan government has approved the creation of the InnoFAB Foundation to promote the first chip design, development, and prototyping center . The foundation's objective is to manage this new strategic infrastructure, which will be located in Parc de l'Alba (Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona), in close collaboration with the synchrotron.

The board will be made up of members from various departments of the Generalitat , as well as representatives of recognized prestige in the field of research, the Government announced in a statement following the Executive Council meeting on Tuesday.

The project will involve an investment of €400 million , of which €3.5 million was already approved in April to tender the engineering project. This new center, which will have a 2,000-square-meter clean room where chip manufacturing processes can be scaled in an industrial environment, will receive European funding through the NextGenerationEU funds.

InnoFAB is part of PERTE Chip and the European Chips Act , two European initiatives that seek to strengthen the continent's technological autonomy. The goal is to make InnoFAB a key scientific and technological infrastructure for semiconductor development and, together with Alba Synchrotron and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, position Catalonia among the 50 most innovative regions in the European Union.

Attached to the Department of Research and Universities, the new foundation will be responsible for the execution and management of the project . Its board of trustees will include the ministers of the Departments of Research and Universities, Economy and Finance, the Presidency, and Business and Labor, as well as three renowned individuals in the field of research.

The latter will be proposed by the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, which has so far led the technical coordination of the project. The positions of president and vice president will be held by the heads of Research and Universities and Economics and Finance, respectively. The organizational structure will be headed by an executive committee with five ex officio trustees appointed by the board of trustees, a director, and a manager.

The Foundation will operate primarily in Catalonia, but the scope and impact of its collaborations will be European and international . The goal is to consolidate Catalonia as a powerful hub for chip design, development, and prototyping within the European Union. In this regard, the InnoFAB project will be key to providing a unique system for attracting talent, entrepreneurs, high-tech startups, and small and medium-sized businesses working in this field.