The government has revealed new funding and support to help the UK advance its semiconductor industry.
According to an announcement today (7 February) by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, two new ‘Innovation and Knowledge Centres’ (IKC) will receive £11m each.
The department says this could “help to power advancements in AI and will underpin the technologies needed to reach net zero”.
The IKCs, the REQIRE facility at the University of Bristol and the Cornerstone Information and Knowledge Centre in Southampton, will receive funding to boost research in silicon photonics and compound semiconductors.
Semiconductors, or microchips, are used in most electronic devices, including smartphones, cars and other technology. The semiconductor supply chain is also likely to be increasingly important to the UK’s AI and quantum computing ambitions.
Compound semiconductors
Compound semiconductors combine two or more elements from the periodic table to form a single, compound chip.
According to CSA Catapult, a company that helps develop compound chips, these are more complex to produce but also more powerful, and are able to transmit data at greater speeds.
Minister for tech and the digital economy Saqib Bhatti said:
“This investment marks a crucial step in advancing our ambitions for the semiconductor industry, with these centres helping bring new technologies to market in areas like net zero and AI, rooting them right here in the UK.”
£4.8m of additional funding is being given to 11 semiconductor skills projects, helping to address a recognised skills gap in the industry.
Semiconductor strategy
The government says this is part of its delivery of its National Semiconductor Strategy.
Released last year to mixed reviews from industry, the strategy focuses on several areas that the UK is said to already have a strategic advantage in, including that of compound semiconductors. It also aims to strengthen the UK’s supply chain for microchips and help protect the UK’s national security interests.
The UK’s first semiconductor design incubator was also announced by the government last year.
Silicon Catalyst, the company picked by the government to handle the incubator, later announced that 11 companies had signed up to the programme, which is slated to last for two years and will provide mentorship and financial support.