A brand new independent UK Semiconductor Institute will for the first time bring together government, universities and the private sector to support key components of the government’s Semiconductor Strategy to grow the sector, which is backed by £1 billion.
The aim is that in the future the Institute will be established as an independent organisation tasked with making sure chip researchers have the tools and infrastructure needed to drive their work forward in these focus areas and convert their innovation into market-ready products, subject to final checks.
As further international semiconductor agreements are made, the Institute will also act as a coordinated entry point for technology businesses and international partners who want to work with the UK semiconductor sector to boost innovation, research, and commercialisation.
Building on a key focus of the Semiconductor Advisory Panel, the Institute will also bring industry together to boost the specialist skills needed to help grow the sector. This will build on £4.8 million of backing for eleven skills programmes across the UK announced earlier this year.
Announced one year on from the launch of the National Semiconductor Strategy, the Institute will set its key focus areas in line with those identified by the Strategy, which identified British strengths in compound chips, design and research and development.
Since the launch of the Semiconductor Strategy, the government has launched ChipStart, a pilot incubator for start-ups the technical and business help they need to help bring new products to market, and invested £22 million in two Innovation and Knowledge Centres in Bristol and Southampton to help bring new UK chip technologies to the global market.
The UK has also secured access to Horizon Europe’s €1.3 billion Chips Joint Undertaking and made sure the UK Infrastructure Bank can invest its £22 billion of financial capacity into semiconductor manufacturers. This enabled the Bank’s £60 million contribution to Pragmatic’s latest funding round.
After extensive industry engagement, the creation of the UK Semiconductor Institute is a major step towards implementing the UK Semiconductor Infrastructure Initiative, which was announced in the National Semiconductor Strategy in 2023. It was a key recommendation in a report commissioned by DSIT from the Institute for Manufacturing and has the support of the Semiconductor Advisory Panel.
Martin McHugh, CEO at CSA Catapult said, "We’re delighted to see the formation of the UK Semiconductor Institute, which will bring together government, academia and industry to help secure areas of world-leading strength in semiconductor technologies of the future. The UK Semiconductor Institute will ensure the UK has a strategic and coordinated approach to developing new technologies, improving skills and exploiting areas in which the UK has existing strengths.
One of these strengths is compound semiconductors and we look forward to working closely with the UK Semiconductor Institute to further the advancement of this critical technology that will accelerate our route to Net Zero through electrification and provide a secure and resilient telecoms network for the future."
The UK Semiconductor Institute will ensure the UK has a strategic and coordinated approach to developing new technologies, improving skills and exploiting areas in which the UK has existing strengths.
One of these strengths is compound semiconductors and we look forward to working closely with the UK Semiconductor Institute to further the advancement of this critical technology that will accelerate our route to Net Zero through electrification and provide a secure and resilient telecoms network for the future.
Source: gov.uk
