Chipnation Congress Delivers Key Report to Valencia City Council

The organizing committee of the Chipnation congress, held at CaixaForum Valencia on December 2 and 3, has presented the City Council of Valencia with the key impact figures of the event, along with a copy of the report Microchips Spain 2025: Towards a New European Semiconductor Strategy. The report was received at La Harinera by Paula Llobet, Valencia’s City Councillor for Innovation, from Mayte Bacete, President of Valencia Silicon Cluster, and Álvaro Pineda, President of the Spanish Semiconductor Industry Association (AESEMI).

The Microchips Spain 2025 report was drafted within the Working Group on the Microchips chapter of the Draghi Report, held during Chipnation. This technical group brought together over thirty experts from companies, academic institutions, and scientific and technological organizations across Spain. In the coming days, a copy of the report will be sent to the European Commissioners for Technological Sovereignty and Industrial Strategy, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, the European Semiconductor Regions Assembly (ESRA), the Government of Spain, and the Generalitat Valenciana.

Chipnation is the leading congress and meeting point for Spain’s microchip and semiconductor industry. The event featured over 70 expert speakers, including representatives from national, regional, and local governments, industry leaders, and the 15 Spanish universities that have established semiconductor chairs under the PERTE Chip public funding program. The congress welcomed over 300 in-person attendees and recorded more than 1,400 online views. In addition to plenary sessions, two specialized working groups were held: a meeting of the 17 Spanish semiconductor chairs and the working group on the Draghi Report.

Microchips Spain 2025

The Draghi Report is currently the most authoritative institutional and technical document guiding the European Commission’s future work. Notably, former ECB President Mario Draghi strongly advocates for the microchip sector in Chapter 3 of his report, proposing a New European Semiconductor Strategy to reform the current European Chips Act by reducing bureaucracy, increasing funding, enhancing flexibility and agility, and strengthening collaboration with the private sector.

The Microchips Spain 2025 report is one of the first examples of a country’s industrial sector structurally and collectively positioning itself in response to the European Commission’s new agenda outlined by Draghi. It anticipates a coordinated work plan for the industry in the newly launched 2025 cycle. The report, developed within the Chipnation Working Group, serves as a starting point for implementing the Report on the Future of European Competitiveness in Spain’s semiconductor sector—a roadmap explicitly endorsed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Several EU member states have also supported the Draghi Report’s diagnosis and roadmap. In Spain, the report has been positively received by the central government, various autonomous communities, prominent think tanks, and economic institutions such as the Bank of Spain, CEOE, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, and the Economic and Social Committee.

The Microchips Spain 2025 study includes significant contributions from national and multinational tech companies affiliated with Valencia Silicon Cluster and AESEMI, as well as scientific institutions like the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the CSIC National Microelectronics Center, the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol), the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), and the Institute of Materials Science (ICMUV)—the latter three through the Advanced Materials for Microchips Chair at the University of Valencia.

As Carlos G. Triviño, Secretary of Valencia Silicon Cluster and coordinator of the Draghi Report Working Group, stated: “It is crucial for Spain’s semiconductor industry to be present in the implementation process of the Draghi Report from the very beginning of the new European Commission’s term (2024–2029), which is why we formed this working group at Chipnation.” The published document includes five declarations and 34 technical recommendations. It is not a closed proposal but a living, dynamic document to which further contributions may be added throughout the Draghi Report’s implementation process in Spain.

Among the most notable recommendations are the creation of a New Spanish Semiconductor Strategy aligned with the New European Microchip Strategy proposed by the Draghi Report, and a national specification of the so-called Tech Skills Acquisition Program as a strategic tool for talent management in the semiconductor field, in coordination with the existing chip chairs.

The Chipnation working group’s proposal anticipates the upcoming conclusion of the PERTE Chip program, which is tied to the recovery fund timelines and the National Resilience Plan. The proposal asserts that Spain’s post-PERTE semiconductor strategy should not scale down the program’s goals or financial forecasts. On the contrary, the Draghi Report calls for a renewed European Chips Strategy with greater scope and funding.

Collaboration Between Valencia Innovation Capital and VaSiC

Valencia’s Innovation Delegate, Paula Llobet, expressed strong support for the fact that Spain’s most important industrial microchip event chose Valencia as the host city for its 2024 edition. She also highlighted the significance of holding the event in a city that concentrates over 50% of the sector’s national talent. Llobet also praised the collaboration established between Valencia Silicon Cluster and the Valencia City Council through the 2024 cooperation agreement.

The success of Chipnation has been a catalyst for increasing visibility of this strategic sector in the city and for establishing a successful alliance between the microchip and semiconductor industry and Valencia Innovation Capital. This alliance will now incorporate the sector as a new strategic focus area. Mayte Bacete also emphasized that the collaboration between VaSiC and the Valencia City Council under the 2024 agreement has been highly fruitful for both parties. Future editions are expected to continue yielding positive results within the framework of the Valencia Silicon Forum, following the announcement by Valencia’s Mayor, María José Catalá, that the event will become a permanent fixture in the city, thematically addressing all aspects related to talent in the microchip sector.

MoU Between PERTE Chip University Chairs

Another key outcome of Chipnation was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among all the university chairs created under the PERTE Chip program. These chairs held their first in-person working meeting during Chipnation, where they discussed shared challenges and goals. The unanimously signed MoU established several working groups to monitor and promote the chairs’ activities. Notable among these are the institutional coordination group, the communications group, and the group tasked with defining a strategic framework for the post-initial phase of the chairs.

Economic Results and Donation to DANA Victims

The Chipnation organizing committee also presented the City Council with the financial report for the 2024 edition of the congress, including the allocation of sponsorship funds after deducting organizational expenses. The net result from industrial, institutional, and academic sponsorships, after expenses, was a positive balance of €21,012. This entire amount will be donated by the organizing entities—Valencia Silicon Cluster and AESEMI—to those affected by the DANA storm in Valencia. This commitment was publicly announced in the weeks leading up to the event, following the devastating impact of the storm on October 29 in the province of Valencia.