EU clears €76 million German state aid for QuantumDiamonds
The European Commission has approved EUR 76 million in German state aid for QuantumDiamonds GmbH to establish a semiconductor testing equipment facility in Munich, Germany. The facility will be the first in the EU to produce semiconductor metrology and inspection systems based on quantum sensing.
The approved aid supports QuantumDiamonds' IPF-ATEST project, which involves developing and manufacturing advanced metrology and inspection systems for the semiconductor industry using novel quantum sensors. The technology enables high-resolution and 3D testing of modern chips, according to a press release from the European Commission.
QuantumDiamonds is applying for the facility to be recognised as an Integrated Production Facility under the EU Chips Act, which comes with a set of obligations the company has committed to fulfil. As a condition of the approval, the company will collaborate with startups, SMEs, universities and research institutions.
The approval is the fourteenth state aid decision the Commission has made under the principles established in the EU Chips Act. Combined, previously approved measures account for cumulative aid of approximately EUR 14.2 billion across different member states.
The decision comes weeks after the Commission proposed Chips Act 2.0 – as Evertiq reported – which aims to further reduce Europe's strategic dependencies and build capacity in cutting-edge semiconductor technologies.
QuantumDiamonds' total investment in the Munich facility is EUR 152 million. The company has conducted proof-of-concept projects with nine of the ten largest chipmakers in the world, with deployments in Europe and installations scheduled in the United States and Taiwan.
