en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dutch semiconductor startup Qualinx claims that its end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing process for satellite navigation chips has achieved design, manufacturing, and delivery entirely within Europe. The company, a spin-off from Delft University of Technology, says this demonstrates that security-critical chips for aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure can be fully completed in Europe.

Qualinx, a fabless design company, describes the tape-out of its ultra-low-power Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) system-on-chip (SoC) QLX3xx series as the first step toward a fully automated, trusted European manufacturing process. The company relies on external foundries, with this collaboration involving U.S.-headquartered international firm GlobalFoundries (GF). Both parties state that GF's fab in Dresden, Germany, is leveraging funding from the European Chips Act to establish a dedicated European manufacturing process, ensuring all steps from mask services to wafer production are completed within the EU, thereby preventing the outflow of sensitive design data. Qualinx may be emphasizing security-critical chips, as Europe already has semiconductor companies like STMicroelectronics that design and manufacture their own products.

Qualinx CEO Tom Trill stated that this first secure product has proven that a fully European manufacturing path from mask services to wafer production is now a reality. Qualinx chips will use GlobalFoundries' FDX fully depleted silicon-on-insulator manufacturing process at the 12nm node. Although this process lags behind TSMC's mass-produced 2nm N2 process, debate has persisted over whether Europe needs cutting-edge fabs. The European Commission's new digital sovereignty plan proposes a Chips Act 2.0 to fund a sovereign AI chip factory. The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) notes that Europe's chip demand primarily comes from the automotive and industrial sectors, which rely on 28/22nm technology. Dr. Manfred Horstmann, Senior Vice President and General Manager at GF, said that the company is proving Europe can rely on a secure end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing process to meet the highest requirements of aerospace and defense, with the collaboration with Qualinx achieving its first operational milestone.

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