AMS-Osram set to get €300 million IPCEI subsidy

News | September 25, 2023

By Peter Clarke

Analog microLED Optoelectronics

Chip company AMS-Osram AG (Premstaetten, Austria) is set to receive €300 million in funding from the Germany government under the Europe-wide IPCEI scheme.

The German federal government and the Bavarian state government intend to provide the money over the next five years, the company said. It is being provided to support the development of optoelectronic semiconductor technologies at the AMS-Osram plant in Regensburg.

The €300 million AMS-Osram is set to receive represents about 7.5 percent of a €4 billion payout reportedly planned by Germany. Last week the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) published 31 projects to be financed under the Important Project of Common European Interest Microelectronics and Communications Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT).

The award to AMS-Osram, as with other awards, is subject to final notice of grants (see NXP says R&D expansion still depends on level of public funding).

AMS-Osram said the money would be spent mainly on R&D of optoelectronic semiconductors and their manufacturing processes, and create 400 jobs. It would also lead to the building of a clean room and laboratory facilities. Applications supported would include UV-C LEDs for disinfection, near-infrared emitters for lidar for autonomous driving, and microLEDs for displays.

The construction of a pilot line for 200mm wafer production is underway to support future large-scale production of microLEDs in the “very near future,” AMS-Osram said in a statement (see AMS-Osram ready to ramp microLED production in 2024).

“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,” said Aldo Kamper, CEO of AMS-Osram, in statement.