ASML and TU/e Strengthen Collaboration to Drive Semiconductor Innovation

ASML and TU/e Strengthen Collaboration to Drive Semiconductor Innovation

(IN BRIEF) ASML and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have solidified their partnership with a significant expansion aimed at fostering innovation in semiconductor technology. Over the next decade, nearly a hundred PhD students will engage in collaborative research, focusing on areas crucial to the chip sector, such as plasma physics, mechatronics, optics, and AI. This collaboration not only contributes groundbreaking knowledge and technology to address societal challenges and enhance Dutch earning capacity but also addresses the pressing need for skilled specialists in the semiconductor industry. ASML’s investment of 80 million euros will support this initiative, with TU/e also committing substantial funds for a new cleanroom facility and PhD appointments. The collaboration aligns with the goals of Project Beethoven, aimed at bolstering the Brainport region’s semiconductor ecosystem and strengthening education and research in the field. This partnership underscores TU/e’s pivotal role in semiconductor research and its commitment to driving technological innovation for societal benefit.

(PRESS RELEASE) VELDHOVEN, 24-May-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — ASML and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have signed an agreement on a significant expansion of their collaboration. They will conduct more joint research and train more PhD students in areas such as plasma physics, mechatronics, optics and AI, based on common roadmaps. The expansion is an investment in the unique position of the Brainport region in the field of semiconductors and a strong boost for the Future Chips flagship of TU/e.

In close collaboration between the two parties, almost a hundred PhD students will conduct research in areas relevant to the chip sector over the next ten years. This is a win-win: on the one hand, it provides groundbreaking new knowledge and technology that contributes to solutions for society and Dutch earning capacity, and, on the other hand, PhD students are trained to become the top specialists that the semiconductor industry desperately needs. The agreement, now concluded, is the elaboration of the memorandum of understanding that ASML and TU/e signed last year.

In addition, ASML will contribute financially to the new cleanroom building that TU/e will build. This lab building will be a top facility focused on research, education and startups in the field of semiconductors and will be larger and more modern than the existing TU/e cleanroom, which it will replace.

ASML is investing a total of 80 million euros in the collaboration over the next ten years. TU/e is also investing heavily in semicon: an expected total of more than a hundred million for the cleanroom building and the many PhD students who will be appointed. The parties will also involve other companies and institutions in the region and beyond in the collaboration, in order to increase its impact.

Roger Dassen, Chief Financial Officer of ASML. “With this agreement we are expanding our long-term collaboration with TU/e. TU/e is the purveyor of talent in the region and an important academic partner. The collaboration will increase the availability of PhDs, which our industry has a strong need for, and will provide scientific insights that are relevant to the chip industry and society. With this agreement we are investing in science in the Netherlands and in training experts.”

Robert-Jan Smits, President of the TU/e Executive Board: “We are proud that we are giving an enormous boost to the strong collaboration that we have had for decades. We will invest together, expanding Brainport’s position as the Netherlands’ most important semicon hotspot. This development once again shows the exceptional strength of TU/e in terms of collaboration with industry and our pivotal position in Brainport. For us, the agreement is extra special because it is our largest agreement ever with an industrial partner. And it is an important recognition of the quality of our university.”

The collaboration between ASML and TU/e is in line with the goals of Project Beethoven. This project, which is financed by national and regional authorities and industry, is aimed at further strengthening the Brainport region and the Netherlands in the field of semiconductors, with a view to creating solutions for society and our future earning capacity. In terms of ‘talent’, Beethoven’s focus includes strengthening relevant education and scientific research.

With its recently launched Future Chips flagship, TU/e is placing extra emphasis on semiconductors. The university has been conducting leading international research in the various areas of chip technology for more than fifty years. More than seven hundred TU/e researchers from 25 research groups are currently working on semiconductors, and this number is expected to grow considerably.

About ASML

ASML is a leading supplier to the semiconductor industry. The company provides chipmakers with hardware, software and services to mass produce the patterns of integrated circuits (microchips). Together with its partners, ASML drives the advancement of more affordable, more powerful, more energy-efficient microchips. ASML enables groundbreaking technology to solve some of humanity’s toughest challenges, such as in healthcare, energy use and conservation, mobility and agriculture. ASML is a multinational company headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, with offices across EMEA, the US and Asia. Every day, ASML’s more than 42,700 employees (FTE) challenge the status quo and push technology to new limits. ASML is traded on Euronext Amsterdam and NASDAQ under the symbol ASML. Discover ASML – our products, technology and career opportunities – at www.asml.com.

About Eindhoven University of Technology

TU/e is a top-ranking Dutch university that educates students and advances knowledge in science & technology for the benefit of humanity. We are an internationally renowned academic institution that pushes the frontiers of science & technology. We educate engineers of the future who combine in-depth knowledge about technology with the skills to address challenges out in the world. We create responsible innovations and contributions to societal challenges in tight-knit collaborations with society and industry. And we have a strong and recognizable voice in the academic and public debate about technology and its merits for a sustainable future.

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SOURCE: ASML