FIRST by FMD | Berlin September 2026

european economics at FIRST by FMD 2026

The european economics team attended the first edition of FIRST by FMD (Fast Innovation through Research in Semiconductor Technologies), organised by the Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland (FMD) and held in Berlin on 30 September and 1 October 2026. This sold-out first edition, with over 500 registered participants, brought together industry leaders, researchers and policymakers from the European semiconductor ecosystem at the Gasometer on the EUREF-Campus.

A cooperation of 13 Fraunhofer institutes and the Leibniz institutes FBH and IHP, the FMD designed FIRST as a high-level trend forum dedicated to the industrial roadmaps and strategic direction of European microelectronics. The event is driven by the APECS pilot line (Advanced Packaging and Heterogeneous Integration for Electronic Components and Systems), set up under the EU Chips Act. Announced speakers included representatives of the European Commission (DG CONNECT), the Chips Joint Undertaking, the German Federal Ministry of Research (BMFTR) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, as well as GlobalFoundries, Intel, STMicroelectronics, Infineon, ASML, Siemens EDA, Bosch, Thales and Rohde & Schwarz.

european economics was represented by Régine CHALLE-RALECHE, Sales Development Representative, Carlotta VARRIALE, Economic Consultant, and Maria Teresa AGUILAR ROJAS, Senior Economic Consultant. With no speaking slot on the programme, our team devoted the two days to meeting players from across the value chain and following the sector’s strategic direction.

A strong track record in European public funding

Founded in 2009, european economics is an independent consultancy specialising in State aid and European funding for strategic industrial projects in Europe.

• 257 projects supported since 2009
• €46 billion in public funding secured
• 100% success rate on State aid notifications to the European Commission
• 211 clients, from high-growth SMEs to large multinational groups, across all industrial sectors

On IPCEIs alone, european economics has secured €16 billion in funding for 151 projects, across each of the 14 IPCEIs launched to date and in 13 Member States.

In microelectronics, the firm has supported 55 strategic projects across the entire value chain (fabless, materials and wafers, IDMs, foundries, equipment makers, OEMs), representing €13 billion in public funding secured, from the earliest R&D programmes to the three microelectronics IPCEIs and the Chips Act.

Two days at the heart of the European semiconductor ecosystem

Day one, under the theme “Shaping Europe’s future with semiconductors”, opened with a progress showcase of the APECS pilot line and a strategic framing of Europe’s semiconductor future, focused on the EU Chips Act, Germany’s Hightech Agenda and global competitiveness, featuring in particular the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the BMFTR, GlobalFoundries and AIXTRON. The following sessions addressed resilience through innovation ecosystems (SPRIND, OECD, ZVEI, Siemens Healthineers), transfer from lab to industry (BMFTR, Infineon, Nexperia, ASMPT) and the European design infrastructure giving companies access to advanced packaging capabilities (Siemens EDA, Fondazione Chips-IT, the European Network of Chips Competence Centres, ENCCC). The day closed with a panel on the Europe 2035 vision, from pilot lines to production, bringing together the Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking, STMicroelectronics, Rohde & Schwarz and the VDMA, followed by a networking evening and technology showcase of the latest developments from the APECS pilot line.

Day two, dedicated to the APECS pilot line and European chiplet innovation, covered the applications driving microelectronics innovation, from artificial intelligence to quantum technologies (Bosch, TRUMPF, AT&S, Fraunhofer IZM), what the APECS pilot line offers industry (Chips Joint Undertaking, UMS, JENOPTIK, Swissbit, Quantune) and advanced packaging in the AI era, from heterogeneous integration to 2.5D/3D (Intel, ASML, NY CREATES, Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID). Dedicated sessions examined microelectronics as a strategic defence capability (Thales, HENSOLDT), what start-ups, SMEs and research really need from design infrastructure (EuroCDP, BMFTR, Chipdesign Germany) and European collaboration in advanced packaging and integrated photonics, with the ChipNL Competence Centre and the PIXEurope pilot line. The forum concluded with a panel on talent, skills and sustainable workforce models for European semiconductor excellence (Silicon Saxony, Microtec Academy, TU Dresden, Chipdesign Germany).

Semiconductors, a priority for European public funding

european economics’ participation in FIRST by FMD comes at a time of strengthening public instruments dedicated to semiconductors.

The European Chips Act, launched in 2023, rests on three pillars: the Chips for Europe Initiative (pillar 1), which supports research, prototyping infrastructure and pilot lines; security of supply (pillar 2), which funds first-of-a-kind production facilities in Europe (Integrated Production Facilities and Open EU Foundries) on the basis of the funding gap calculation; and monitoring and crisis response (pillar 3). It is under pillar 1 that the APECS pilot line, the initiative behind FIRST, is co-funded by the Chips Joint Undertaking and eight Member States, with total funding of €730 million over 4.5 years. On 3 June 2026, the European Commission adopted its proposal for a regulation on the Chips Act 2.0 (COM(2026) 504 final), presented as part of the European technological sovereignty package. At this stage, it remains a Commission proposal that must still be negotiated and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

On the IPCEI side, the IPCEI ME/CT (Microelectronics and Communication Technologies), approved on 8 June 2023, brought together 14 Member States and 56 companies for €8.1 billion in aid. Its successor, the IPCEI on Advanced Semiconductor Technologies, is a project under structuring, listed in the European Commission’s Design Support Hub: 14 Member States have launched national calls for expressions of interest, the first projects were pre-notified to the Commission in July 2026 and approval is expected in 2027. european economics is supporting 14 candidate projects for this IPCEI in 4 Member States.

Let’s continue the conversation

european economics’ presence at FIRST by FMD confirms its expertise in European public funding and its commitment to the semiconductor industry, from R&D through to first industrial deployment.

Were you unable to meet us in Berlin and would like to discuss public funding opportunities for your projects in semiconductors or strategic industrial technologies?

Contact us to arrange a meeting!