More Danish companies must be able to design and manufacture advanced chips. The new Danish Chips Competence Centre brings together the leading players in the field and provides the industry with direct access to knowledge, networks and production facilities.
Leading researchers from DTU, the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University and DFM - the Danish National Metrology Institute, will work closely with industry in the new Danish Chips Competence Centre, which will be headquartered at DTU.
Here, Danish start-ups and small and medium-sized companies will be able to find advice and expertise as well as highly specialised equipment for designing and fabricating microchips. Close collaboration between researchers and industry is the recipe for innovation and growth in Europe, says DTU President Anders Bjarklev:
'A strong development and production environment in chip technology is a prerequisite for us to remain competitive in a number of important areas such as quantum technology and artificial intelligence. With increasing global competition, it's crucial that the knowledge created in research is quickly available to companies to make a difference. This is what the centre can deliver through close collaboration between leading universities and industry,' says Anders Bjarklev.
The centre's partners each have their own strengths, which together cover the entire process from idea to full-scale production in a company.
- The Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Aarhus University is responsible for chip design, i.e. how to construct a chip with the desired properties.
- The Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen is responsible for quantum chips. Quantum chips utilise quantum mechanics, which opens up completely new applications, for example in quantum computers.
- DTU is responsible for fabrication. DTU Nanolab has Denmark's largest cleanroom for developing, testing and fabricating advanced microchips. DTU Nanolab also has a strong research environment within nano- and microfabrication.
- DFM will contribute with advanced measurement technology, especially in connection with quantum properties.
- The Confederation of Danish Industry is responsible for the contact with participating companies. DI Digital represents more than 900 technology companies and has in-depth knowledge of the industry's needs.
Growth now and in the future
At the centre, small and medium-sized companies in particular will have access to the latest research-based knowledge and advanced world-class testing and production facilities. And this is exactly what is in demand among growth companies that see potential in chip technology, says Andreas Espersen, Director at DI:
'The Danish Chips Competence Centre will create the conditions for growth and innovation in startups as well as established companies - both when it comes to known chip technologies used in business today and in the development of future quantum chips.'
The centre is funded by the EU and the Ministry for Higher Education and Science with a budget of DKK 57 million over the next four years and, together with similar centres in other European countries, will support the EU's ambition to double the production of chips within Europe by 2030.
The Danish Chips Competence Centre also provides access to a number of EU initiatives and funding programmes as well as a large network of European chip companies.
