February 12, 2026 -
Facility was jointly funded by EU, national governments, and EUV equipment manufacturer ASML
By Charlotte Trueman, DCD
The European Union (EU) has launched its largest Chips Act pilot line to date – a €2.5 billion ($3bn) facility dubbed NanoIC at Imec Leuven, in Belgium.
Dedicated to the development of advanced semiconductors, the EU and national and regional governments both invested €700 million ($834m) in the project, with the remainder of the funding provided by ASML and other industry partners.
The facility was first announced in May 2024, with the opening of NanoIC following the inauguration of the FAMES pilot line on January 30. Housed at CEA-Leti in Grenoble, France, FAMES saw a total combined investment of €830m ($989m) from the EU and participating member states, and will focus on Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FD-SOI), a manufacturing process that allows chips to operate at significantly lower voltages.