ANTWERP, Belgium, May 21 Reuters Leading European research labs will receive 2.5 billion euros 2.72 billion in funding under the European Chips Act to set up a pilot line to develop and test future generations of advanced computer chips, Belgium39;s imec said on Wednesday.

The European Union39;s 43 billion euro Chips Act was announced in 2023 to support domestic European chipmaking, a counterbalance to plans by China, the U.S. and other governments to shore up their own industries following shortages during the COVID pandemic.

Leuven, Belgiumbased research hub imec will host the pilot line for the sub2 nanometre chips to help European industry, academics and startups access chip manufacturing technology that would otherwise be too expensive for any one of them to test or use in development.

Top chipmakers such as TSMC, Intel and Samsung are launching 2 nanometre chips this year and next year in commercial plants, or fabs, costing as much as 20 billion euros.

The European RD line is intended to help develop future generations of even more advanced chips, and will be outfitted with equipment from European and global equipment and materials firms.

The investment will allow us to double volumes and learning speed, accelerating our innovation pace, strengthening the European chip ecosystem, and driving economic growth in Europe. said imec CEO Luc Van den Hove in a statement.

The NanoIC pilot line will support a diversity of industries in Europe, including automotive,…