G. Angelov: Bulgaria can join the European Chips Act for 43 billion euros

Our country needs to attract investors with design units in the field of semiconductors, pointed out the head of MicroNanoLab at "Sofia Tech Park". Bulgaria needs to attract investors working in the field of semiconductors and chip manufacturing, not in the construction of clean rooms, because the scale is huge, but for design units. This advice was given in the "Business Start" show on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgi Angelov, chairman of the board of the "Microelectronics and Industrial Electronic Systems" cluster and head of MicroNanoLab at "Sofia Tech Park". He pointed out that companies consider their opportunities from an economic perspective and that Bulgaria is currently positioned such that it would be most favorable for us to set a goal to develop in the field of design. "This is a field with high added value. It is possible to think about other scales, but they cannot be our priority," the expert believes. "All businesses are interested in the availability of qualified human resources, and in Bulgaria there are several leading universities that have experience in the direction of high technologies, micro- and nanoelectronics – Technical University, Sofia University, the technical universities in the country in Gabrovo and Varna, as the potential is concentrated in Sofia," explained Assoc. Prof. Angelov. According to him, the strength of the Bulgarian capacity lies in the design and creation of component and device technology. "At the Technical University is the first laboratory for the so-called ECAD - the software with which integrated circuits are designed. Since 1994, we have been the first country in Eastern Europe to receive academic licenses for educational centers in Europe. Sofia University also has capacities, BAS also works in this direction. We have the opportunity to build human resources," he argued and predicted that our country is well positioned to join the business in the development of new technologies. Angelov confirmed that the European Chips Act is expected to mobilize 15 billion euros of public and private investments in the sector. Along with the funds from the existing programs "Horizon Europe" and "Digital Europe", as well as with additional support from member states, investments in semiconductor technologies and applications are expected to exceed 43 billion euros by 2030. The chairman of the board of the "Microelectronics and Industrial Electronic Systems" cluster recalled that the goal of the European Union is to double its market share in the production of semiconductors from 10% to 20%, and it is realistic. "The processes are slow because every company has some profile and it is justified by the market," commented Assoc. Prof. Angelov. He confirmed that the business is huge – on the order of 550-560 billion dollars annually on a global scale. Assoc. Prof. Angelov believes that it is possible to attract European funds for the development of the industry in Bulgaria, but advises us to be active, not to consider that it is our due, because international companies already have representations and are growing in our country. Where in Europe do leading research institutes develop new technologies? What are the strengths of Bulgaria in the automotive industry? See the entire commentary in the video material of Bloomberg TV Bulgaria.

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Investor.bg, 10.02.2022