Silicon Island aims to strengthen Ireland's role in the global semiconductor industry while contributing to the EU Chips Act.
www.eetimes.eu, May. 28, 2025 –
Ireland is the latest EU member state to announce a national semiconductor strategy. Dubbed Silicon Island, the initiative, like other EU countries’ strategies, dovetails into the European Chips Act introduced in 2023. Launched by Peter Burke, Irish Minister for Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment, Silicon Island aims to strengthen Ireland's role in the global semiconductor industry while contributing to the Chips Act’s goal of increasing Europe’s semiconductor production volume to 20% of global output by 2030.
Speaking at the launch event held in the offices of research and development partner Tyndall National Institute, Minister Burke stated, “We’re setting our sights on the next frontier: semiconductors. Ireland already has a strong semiconductor base, with over 130 indigenous and multinational companies, 20,000 jobs, and €13.5 billion in annual exports. But with the right support, I believe we could do far more. By 2040, Ireland could support up to 34,500 new semiconductor roles. This strategy is Ireland’s commitment to helping deliver on the European Chips Act and becoming a global leader in this vital sector. Ireland is turning to chips as the next big opportunity. Much of the work to achieve our ambitions is already underway. We have already earmarked over €70 million in national and EU funding for Tyndall’s participation in three EU Pilot Lines. We have established I-C3—a national competence center under the European Chips Act—and joined forces with Analog Devices and 14 EU Member States in the IPCEI [Important Projects of Common European Interest] on microelectronics.”
Ireland has a unique position in the semiconductor industry, with 15 of the top 30 global semiconductor companies having established operations in the country. Also, three of the top five EDA companies, Cadence, Siemens, and Synopsys, have operations there. Heavy hitters like Analog Devices, Intel, and Qualcomm have significant operations, each making major investments in R&D and manufacturing in recent years.
Giorgos Fagas, director of strategic development at Tyndall National Institute, observed, “The history of semiconductors in Ireland is now more than 45 years old, starting in the late seventies with the arrival of Analog Devices, and followed shortly after by Intel. Today, we have a mix of big multinational companies, such as Qualcomm, but we also have companies like Cadence that support the whole semiconductor value chain in Ireland. One of the most essential things is growing our end-to-end ecosystem across the semiconductor supply chain. And when that is connected and brought together, it gives space for the homegrown SMEs to operate. This is something we experience at Tyndall, for example. Our spinouts tend to stick around for quite some time and grow, like Firecomms, but also, in many cases, are bought by big companies like InfiniLed, which was acquired by Oculus and is now part of Meta. We also see a full pipeline of startups and homegrown organizations in addition to those SMEs or startups from elsewhere that wish to grow in Ireland.”
Fagas highlighted that Ireland’s industrial policy has generally focused on digital technologies. Now, with the National Semiconductor Strategy, the spotlight has been placed on semiconductors. He stressed this focus helps build momentum with the relevant government agencies and industry players to support the SME ecosystem in much the same way it had supported scaling up digital technology organizations.
The semiconductor industry requires a highly skilled workforce, and developing, recruiting, and retaining people is crucial. Fagas stated, “The skills issue is a huge challenge, not just for Ireland, or Europe, but the whole world, at least for semiconductors. While many reports highlight the talent gap in the semiconductor industry, it is clear that no single act can improve it. Many small changes are required, which will produce success in the end. We need changes across the whole spectrum of education and beyond the education system into lifelong learning. Part of our strategy entails establishing a task force to look across all the different semiconductor sectors. The reason for that is not because we don’t think we haven’t addressed it, but to coordinate across the sector what has been done and to identify what else needs to be done to bridge the talent gap.”
According to Fagas, Tyndall and Munster Technical University will launch a semiconductor manufacturing course next year with hands-on training, including cleanroom training.
Irish universities are well-connected with other European semiconductor networks and research projects. Examples include the IPCEI covering microelectronics and communication technologies (IPCEI ME/CT), NanoIC Pilot Line, and PIXEurope Pilot Line.
One of the challenges of any joint research project for an EU member state is ensuring it can benefit from downstream commercial engagements. Fagas highlighted that “Ireland is one of the top exporters of semiconductor technologies, with €13.5 billion of exports. Also, on the R&D side, we certainly pump above our weight. If you look at the drawdowns from the EU Horizon 2020 framework of projects, Tyndall would be in the top 10 recipients of European R&D funding.”
Looking to the future, Fagas observed, “I believe there are more things we can do, such as developing our homegrown SMB ecosystem. One really important aspect is the visibility of semiconductors in Ireland. Because the industrial policy previously focused on digital, ICT, and technology in general, semiconductors have not been highlighted as a separate sector. This meant it hadn’t seen the same levels of support and attractiveness as a sector. The National Semiconductor Strategy is the first great statement of intent. In addition, the fact that Ireland will shortly join the recently formed Semicon Coalition will give even more visibility to the country, not only for R&D but also on the commercialization side.”