Bavarian Chip-Design-Center: Bavaria on course to become a Center of Innovation and Excellence for Chip Design

On January 18, 2024, the Bavarian Chip Design Center (BCDC) reached an important milestone in making Bavaria a leading location for innovation and excellence in chip design. As part of the “Symposium on Chip Development – More Innovation through Chip Design” at Fraunhofer IIS, Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger presented the operators of the center with a funding decision in the amount of 50 million euros.

The BCDC has set itself the ambitious goal of further expanding chip design expertise in Bavaria and providing easier access to chip design and suitable supply chains for companies, especially start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The recent challenges in the German industry have once again highlighted the dependence on international semiconductor companies and underline the particular relevance of a strong chip design center.

“Chip design is of strategic importance. Those who help develop the semiconductors of tomorrow will secure their influence on the global market. That is precisely our goal for Bavaria. In addition, there is significantly more added value in the design of chips than in the actual production. With our semiconductor policy, we are therefore focusing on the right areas. With its three participating institutes, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the right partner for this project. As the state government, we have already paved the way for the Bavarian Chip Design Center in previous years with our own semiconductor initiatives. With this additional 50 million, we are making a clear commitment to the semiconductor industry in Bavaria,” says Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.

The funding approval marks a milestone in the development of the BCDC, which was launched back in 2022 with an initial grant of one million euros. Since 2022, the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC, for Electronic Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT and for Integrated Circuits IIS have been driving forward the research work, identifying key topics and developing concepts to qualify more specialists for IC design and enable access to the production and supply chains of ICs (integrated circuits) as well as to an IC design ecosystem that makes it easier for SMEs and start-ups to enter IC development.

BCDC as a competence center for chip design

With the second funding decision from the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, the BCDC can further expand its research expertise and, together with other partners consisting of five Bavarian colleges and universities, develop into a leading competence center for chip design in Bavaria.

In terms of content, the Bavarian Chip Design Center is organized into three pillars in the identified core topics:

• With its thematic platforms, the IC – Design Ecosystem provides support in the development of specific solutions in the areas of sensor/actuator systems and AI, digital signal processing, secure system on chip and chiplets, develops IP portfolios for innovative and novel technologies and investigates solutions to minimize obsolescence and chip shortage risks.
• The IC – Design Talents pillar addresses the shortage of skilled workers in chip design through on-the-job training for talented individuals.
• The IC – Supply Chain supports companies in accessing the production of their own integrated circuits as prototypes and small series.

In addition to the expansion of research capacities, a network with industry will be established and strategic initiatives will be promoted both nationally and at EU level. The Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy is supporting the co-financing of a planned German pilot line through a dedicated part of the project, submitted by the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD) as part of the European Chips Act. The partners would like to use the trust placed in them to meet the challenges of chip development and production with expertise, innovative strength and networking as part of the five-year funded project. The BCDC will thus make a significant contribution to the technological sovereignty and competitiveness of the Bavarian economy.

Further information and pictures of the event can be found on the Webpage of Fraunhofer IIS.

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