Bosch has applied for EU state aid as part of a €3 billion investment in semiconductor expansion in Europe.
The company announced the plans to boost semiconductor production as part of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) scheme, with plans to fund the investment with the construction of two new development centres in Reutlingen and Dresden, Germany, at a total cost of €170 million.
Additional funding for the project will be supplied via the PCEI by the European Union and German federal government.
Bosch will also spend €250 million to create an additional 3,000 square metres of clean-room space for semiconductor manufacturing in Dresden.
The aim of the project is to double Europe’s part in semiconductor production from 10% to 20% by the end of the 2020s, aiming to promote research and innovation.
Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management, Bosch, commented: “Europe can and must capitalise on its own strengths in the semiconductor industry.
“More than ever, the goal must be to produce chips for the specific needs of European industry. And that means not only chips at the bottom end of the nanoscale.”