Northern Innovation: Finland’s Semiconductor Vision Encourages European Cooperation

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Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-02-11 08:54:20 |

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Toni Mattila from Business Finland and Joonas Mikkilä of Technology Industries of Finland discuss how Finland is strategically positioned to enhance the European semiconductor industry through its specialized microelectronics value chains. Finland recognizes the significant growth potential arising from the global shifts in semiconductor and microelectronics industries, especially with the European Chips Act. The national growth strategy, "Chips from the North," aims to achieve an annual growth rate of over 10%, tripling the industry's size in less than ten years.

Finland's ability to capitalize on this opportunity stems from its recent industry transformation, fueled by the establishment of numerous deep tech startups in the last decade, along with sustained investments in education, research, and development.

Transformation in the 2010s was catalyzed by Nokia's exit from the mobile phone business, which triggered a shift in the national industry landscape. This coincided with Finland's startup boom, attracting international companies looking to recruit Finnish talent. VTT Technical Research Center of Finland also began spinning out companies, sparking a nationwide transformation of the microelectronics and photonics landscape. Today, nearly 300 companies are active in these sectors, with most being SMEs poised for growth.

Finland's microelectronics strengths are centered around several areas of expertise, many of which stem from past investments in telecoms. One major domain is electronics design, particularly chip design, with over 20 companies specializing in integrated circuits. Finland is also known for its expertise in advanced materials and semiconductor processing technologies, including atomic layer deposition (ALD), a technology developed in Finland in the 1970s. Additionally, Finland excels in sensor technology, including MEMS-based inertial and environmental sensors, optical sensors, and photonics. Furthermore, Finland's contributions to quantum technologies are noteworthy, with several research institutions and companies making significant strides in quantum computing, communication, and sensing.

A key driver of Finland's innovation is collaboration between industry, academia, and the public sector, which accelerates innovation and product development. Finland's semiconductor and microelectronics sector offers substantial growth potential, with the 2024 national strategy projecting a tripling of revenue to €5-6 billion by 2035 and a doubling of the workforce to 20,000 employees.

Global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions have underscored the need for resilient semiconductor supply chains, with the EU's Chips Act aiming to increase Europe's global semiconductor market share to 20% by 2030.

Finland is poised to play a vital role in revitalizing the European semiconductor industry, thanks to its deep-rooted expertise. However, achieving growth will require significant investments in talent and infrastructure, with public-private collaborations being crucial to meeting the sector's demands.

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