DIGITAL EUROPE – Second Call on Competence Centers – 2025

Objectives 

• To provide access to technical expertise and experimentation in the area of semiconductors, helping companies, SMEs in particular, to approach and improve design capabilities and developing skills
• To provide services to semiconductor stakeholders, especially targeting start-ups and SMEs
• To connect and be part of the European network of competence centres in semiconductors and act as an access point to other nodes of the network

Priorities 

• Priority 1: To promote the actions developed by the Chips JU in the frame of the Chips for Europe Initiative as well as the success stories
• Priority 2: To be a first entry point for users (mainly SMEs and startups) and guide users in accessing the other infrastructures set up by the Chips JU under the Initiative: the design platform and the pilot lines
• Priority 3: To be essential in facilitating skill development activities
• Priority 4: To support companies in accessing the Chips Fund
• Priority 5: To perform other activities that can help European organizations (mainly SMEs and startups) to develop their activities in the frame of the Chips for Europe initiative and vice versa
• Priority 6: To support the consortia that implement the pilot lines and the design platform to reach out to the larger community of organizations that could profit from those efforts

Among financed actions  

• Qualified personnel of the competence centre, including subcontracting for specialists
• Procurement and/or depreciation costs for equipment and facilities, both hardware and software
• Travel grants for personnel of the competence centre and local stakeholders to carry out their activities

Eligibility 

• Be a legal person
• Be a public or private entity
• Be established in one of the eligible countries:
  • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories)
  • Non-EU states: listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme (Click here)

Additional information 

• Initial duration of the action : 4 years
• Contact : calls@chips-ju@europa.eu

Useful 

• Guidelines: Click here
• Other call documents: Click here
• Executive agency website: Click here
• More information: Click here

• Total budget of the call: 16 million euros
• Amount of the grant: up to 1 million euro per year, per country, for a 4-year period
• Funding rate: up to 50% of the total eligible costs