A team from UPVfab, led by Pascual Muñoz and José Capmany, participated in the PIXEurope Connect – Industry Ecosystem Building Day in Barcelona, where the Valencian plant was presented to potential end users, technology providers, industry leaders and policymakers regarding this pan-European initiative.
PIXEurope, funded by the European Commission's Chips Programme in collaboration with the support of the Ministry for Digital Transformation, has a budget of €400 million. UPVfab is one of the 20 organizations participating in this project, which aims to accelerate the growing photonic chip market and strengthen European technological sovereignty.
The first stone for an industrial campus of the UPV
The Valencian pilot plant has a total investment of 45 million euros, of which 33 million come through PIXEurope, but another 12 million are a direct investment by the UPV, with which industrial land has been acquired in L'Eliana for the construction of the pilot factory, with the aim of other companies being set up around it.
In this regard, Pascual Muñoz, the laboratory director, highlighted that Valencia is the only Spanish project within PIXEurope that will construct infrastructure linked to the project. "The UPV believes this facility could become the cornerstone of what might be a technological hub for photonic chips in Valencia," he stated.
The project manager has stated that there is a desire to go beyond PIXEurope and move towards what could be "the first industrial campus outside the university area." The goal is for both end users of this technology and the rest of the value chain to be able to establish themselves around this plant.
The importance of photonic research
The European business sector is made up of 80% small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that face significant challenges in developing new technological processes. For this reason, pilot facilities like the one in Valencia offer an opportunity for them to "develop their processes and then export them to industrial factories."
UPVfab is developing a hybrid photonic chip technology that combines the best of existing technologies. This represents the next wave in photonic chips and could be applied to sectors such as autonomous vehicle production and biomedicine, among others.
The Valencia plant, which is currently in the bidding phase, is expected to generate around fifty jobs for professionals specializing in this field, both in Spain and in other countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.
In this context, the UPV has been developing collaborations with ecosystem stakeholders since 2020, leading and coordinating PIXSpain, the initiative for the development of the integrated photonics sector in Spain. It also coordinates the PIXSpain Competence Center, a hub for accessing PIXEurope technologies in Spain, as well as for training, technology transfer, and access to investment opportunities.
