During the pandemic, we learned a lot about chips and semiconductors, but we did so because part of the industry, especially the automotive industry, came to a standstill due to the lack of these components, which are mainly manufactured in Asia. As with other materials, we realised that we are dependent on third countries and therefore highly vulnerable.

To change this trend, the Valencia Silicon Cluster project was born, an association in which the two public universities of Valencia (the University of Valencia and the Polytechnic University of Valencia) collaborate and which comprises nine companies already located in Valencia that aim to raise the profile of the Valencian chip ecosystem. They are now holding the first Valencia Silicon Forum, which aims to raise awareness of the sector and encourage the regional and central governments to join forces to take advantage of European funds that may be available to the industry through the PERTE (Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation).

On Hoy por Hoy Valencia, we spoke with Mayte Bacete, director of MaxLinear in Spain and president of the VLC Silicon Cluster, and Carlos González Triviño, CEO of Gobernanza Industrial and secretary of the VLC Silicon Cluster. According to

Bacete, ‘all continents and countries have positioned themselves to boost the sector because they have realised that most manufacturing had moved to Asia and that this could generate a series of significant tensions in the supply of semiconductors, which are now key to almost any application’.

‘Two years ago, we realised that there were semiconductor companies that had grown in Valencia: there were already four microelectronics companies established here and three photonics companies. So we decided to join forces and raise awareness of the sector. We found that even the regional government was unaware of the presence of these companies in Valencia,’ he explained.

Generalitat Commission and Central Government

According to González Triviño, ‘there are objective indicators that clearly demonstrate the leadership of the Valencian microchip ecosystem in Spain as a whole.’ In this regard, he asserted that due to the large amount of European funding, ‘we have the opportunity to take our current ecosystem to a much higher level, both in terms of qualitative development and critical scope.’

‘An important first step has already been taken with the creation of three microchip chairs at the UPV and the UV, which have involved the allocation of 13.8 million euros and the participation of 22 companies from five countries,’ said the secretary of VLC Silicon Cluster. ‘We are talking about the largest stimulus for an industrial sector that has ever existed: 12 billion euros is three times more than the PERTE for the automotive industry.’

Precisely because of all this potential, the idea behind this organisation is to call for the creation of a commission between the Regional Government and the Government to study the next steps in the implementation of the PERTE, in which Valencia should play the leading role it deserves due to its potential in these companies.