At the invitation of Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the “Microelectronics Summit” was held in July at the Federal Chancellery with the participation of members of the federal government and leading representatives of the microelectronics industry. Andreas Gerstenmayer, Chairman of the Management Board of AT&S, took part in the high-level meeting, at which the development of domestic microelectronics was discussed and promoted.

As a globally active high-tech company based in Austria, AT&S is playing a key role in this with a European lighthouse project: as part of IPCEI ME II, AT&S is currently building a development and production center for interconnection technology and substrates in the high-end technological field for high-performance microprocessors at its headquarters in Leoben, which is unique in Europe and the entire western world.

This represents an initial spark for the long-term establishment of microelectronics packaging technologies, a technology area with considerable growth potential, in Europe. This is because key issues ranging from energy efficiency to climate change can be tackled much more effectively as a result.

This is particularly true for more complex, higher-performance process technologies, such as the 2-nanometer chip process technologies addressed by the EU. In view of the global increase in data volumes in the triple-digit zettabyte range, technological progress will also have a strong impact on reducing emissions and energy losses of those applications that are essential for achieving climate targets. AT&S technology is already integrated into almost every everyday electronic item. In the future, innovative technologies from AT&S may also be of great importance in solving global tasks, such as CO2 reduction.

“The successful implementation of existing programs such as IPCEI Microelectronics II, with correspondingly high funding commitments, lays the foundation for further initiatives under the EU Chips Act that will be decisive throughout Europe. Now there is a unique opportunity to position Austria and Europe clearly in the fast lane here. Politicians are called upon to act quickly and give domestic microelectronics the strategic importance it has long enjoyed in people’s everyday lives,” emphasized Gerstenmayer.