News: Optoelectronics
22 September 2023
Germany and Bavaria governments to provide €300m IPCEI funding for ams OSRAM to expand opto R&D and manufacturing
ams OSRAM GmbH of Premstätten, Austria and Munich, Germany has received notice of substantial public funding – via the European Commission’s Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) program for funding digital and green initiatives – from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Free State of Bavaria’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy. The application for public subsidies of more than €300m over five years is subject to final notice of the grant.
At an event at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action on 18 September, ams OSRAM presented its project, launched within the scope of the IPCEI ME/CT (Microelectronics and Communication Technologies).
The funding will be invested mainly in R&D and manufacturing processes for optoelectronic semiconductors, creating 400 new jobs at the firm’s site in Regensburg, joining 2700 existing staff. In addition, ams OSRAM will invest in new cleanroom and laboratory facilities for research, development and pilot production – equipped for various applications (e.g. UV-C LEDs for disinfection and near-infrared emitters for LiDAR for autonomous driving), as well as applications in the context of Industry 4.0. Another focus will be micro-LEDs for use in an all-new type of display. ams OSRAM says that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) generally play a major role in Regensburg, enabling it to break new ground at its production facilities. The construction of the first pilot assembly line for 8” wafer production is currently underway in order to launch the cost-efficient large-scale production of micro-LEDs in the very near future.
“By expanding our development activities in the field of optoelectronic semiconductors, we can create room for innovation and accelerate the time to market for our products,” says ams OSRAM’s CEO Aldo Kamper. “At the same time, our investment is a clear commitment to Regensburg as an industrial hub, Bavaria as a high-tech location, and Europe as a hotbed of innovation,” he adds. “Here we create new, energy-efficient products and production processes to drive digitalization and thus support the European Green Deal and the autonomy of Europe in the field of semiconductors. In line with our future-oriented ‘Re-Establish the Base’ program, we will continue to build on ams OSRAM’s market-leading core competency and shape the future of the semiconductor market from this Bavarian city,” he adds.
ams OSRAM investing €800m over next 18-24 months on new 8” LED front-end fab
