Semiconductors in Catalonia

The semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia gathers 4,600 professionals and 260 institutions, companies and entities, according to a study by Catalonia Trade & Investment.

Download our report about Semiconductors in Catalonia

Semiconductors, an essential sector in Catalonia with growth potential.

Semiconductors have become essential and sensitive components for the technological sovereignty of countries on a global scale since chips are strategic for most industrial value chains. You can search our database to find Catalan suppliers in the semiconductors sector.

Indeed, semiconductor chips impact a wide range of industries: communications, electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles, robots, and industrial machinery, and even medicine and medical equipment.

As the report drawn up by Catalonia Trade & Investment points out, while global demand for semiconductors is mainly for communications (32%) and computing (25%), automotive (37%) and industry (25%) stand out in Europe.

In this sense, Catalonia is already positioning itself as one of the most dynamic environments in southern Europe in the field of the design of semiconductors.

This is evidenced by recent investment announcements by Cisco, Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) and Intel, which have chosen Barcelona to locate their microchip design centers. Moreover, Catalan company IDEADED will open close to Barcelona the largest private semiconductor clean room in southern Europe.

Public support in the semiconductors field

The European Chips Act, introduced in February 2022, will involve an investment of more than €43 billion, with the target of the EU accounting for 20% of the global semiconductors market by 2030.

Moreover, the Spanish Government is implementing public investment in semiconductors (Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation- PERTE). This financing will involve €12.25B until 2027 to develop the design and production capabilities of the microelectronics and semiconductor industry in Spain.

In Barcelona-Catalonia, the Semiconductor and Chip Alliance of Catalonia is a public-private initiative with fifty members that aims to develop industrial policies that will boost the semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia. The Alliance has 5 main objectives: to promote the sector and strengthen value chain actors, to attract investment, to build infrastructure, to become a hub for semiconductor talent, and to promote technology transfer.

“Barcelona will become a meeting point for the design of high-performance chips”

Mateo Valero, Director of Barcelona Supercomputing Center

Share quote:

216 companies
4,600 qualified jobs
€301.8M in turnover

Mapping of the semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia

The semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia is formed by 4,600 professionals and 260 companies and research entities, according to the study Semiconductors in Catalonia.

81% of the companies in the semiconductors sector in the region are SMEs (and 6.9% are startups). Moreover, 20.4% are less than 10 years old and 50.5% are exporters.

The document points out that the semiconductor industry is in a development phase in Catalonia and has significant growth projections. It is noteworthy that 44.17% of the Catalan manufacturing industry uses semiconductors in processes or products.

It is important to note that this analysis does not yet include the projects announced in recent months by some multinationals, such as Cisco and Intel, as they are still not fully implemented.

Catalonia is the third-ranked region in the EU in terms of capturing foreign investment projects, the fifth-ranked for jobs created, and the eleventh in investment volume in semiconductors attracted since the announcement of the European Chip Act (2022). Catalonia, the preferred destination in Spain, concentrates 66.7% of the projects, 70.7% of the jobs created, and 40.3% of the invested capital.

Furthermore, Catalonia has infrastructures of international reference - such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and the ICFO- and the ability to generate and attract talent. Catalonia has 20 technology centers with R&D activities in semiconductors and 11 Catalan universities that offer training in this field.