D2 2 Regional SWOT Analysis 1 1

Regional SWOT analysis from an economic,

innovation and RTD perspective

D2.2

Version: 1.1

Last Update: 16/1/2014

Dissemination Level: PU

Dissemination level

PU = Public,

RE = Restricted to a group of the specified Consortium,

PP = Restricted to other programme participants (including Commission Services),

CO= Confidential, only for members of the Silicon Europe Consortium (including the Commission Services)

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n 320004

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Silicon Europe Page 2 of 65 FP7 RoK GA 320004

Document Identity

Title: WP:

Regional SWOT analysis 2Analysis of research agendas

WP leader: Main Editor

Frank Bsenberg, Silicon Saxony Management GmbH Michael Kaiser, Silicon Saxony Management GmbH

Version: 1.1 File name: D2 2_Regional_SWOT analysis_1.1 Last Update: Thursday, January 16, 2014

Revision History

No. Version Edition Author(s) Date

1 0.9 Kessler, Motte, van der Zon, Payer, Janssens 06.11.2013 Comments:

2 0.9 Kaiser 07.01.2014 Comments: added value chain charts

3 1.0 Kaiser 10.01.2014 Comments: final edit

4 1.1 Kaiser, van der Zon, Margetts 16.01.2014 Comments: final edit

5 Comments:

6 Comments:

7 Comments:

8 Comments:

9 Comments:

10 Comments:

11 Comments:

12 Comments:

13 Comments:

14 Comments:

15 Comments:

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Table of contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 9

2. Regional SWOT analysis of Saxony / Germany ............................................................10

2.1. Overview SWOT .................................................................................................................... 10

2.2. Analysis of regional knowledge transfer ................................................................................ 12

2.3. Existing regional smart specialisation strategies ................................................................... 14

2.4. Existing regional cluster policies and initiatives ..................................................................... 16

2.5. Existing economic development policies ............................................................................... 16

2.6 Evaluation of European and international context ................................................................. 18

2.7 Technological view ................................................................................................................ 18

3 Regional SWOT analysis of Rhne-Alpes / France .......................................................20

3.1. Overview SWOT .................................................................................................................... 20





3.6. Evaluation of European and international context ................................................................. 34

3.7. Technological view ................................................................................................................ 35

4. Regional SWOT analysis of Flanders / Belgium ............................................................38

4.1. Overview SWOT .................................................................................................................... 38







5. Regional SWOT analysis of South and East Netherlands ..............................................45

5.1. Overview SWOT .................................................................................................................... 45







6. Regional SWOT analysis of Carinthia / Austria ..............................................................54

6.1. Overview SWOT .................................................................................................................... 54



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7. Conclusions ...................................................................................................................62

8. Glossary ........................................................................................................................64

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List of abbreviations

BCS-NL Business Cluster Semiconductor Netherlands

BMBF Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany)

BMVIT Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (Austria)

BMWF Federal Ministry of Science and Research (Austria)

BMWFJ Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth (Austria)

BMWi Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Germany)

cfAED Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden

EDA Electronic Design Automation

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ERA European Research Area

FDSOI fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator

GWT Society for Knowledge and Technology Transfer

HZDR Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf

ICT Information and Communication Technologies

IDM Integrated device manufacturer

JAP Joint Action Plan

KETs Key Enabling Technologies

LE Large enterprises

M(O)EMS Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems

M2M Machine to Machine

MEMS Micro-electromechanical systems

MINT Mathematics, Engineering, Natural Sciences, Technical

MNE Micro- and Nanoelectronic

NFC Near Field Communication

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer

RFID Radio-Frequency Identification

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RIS3 Regional Innovation Strategy - Smart Specialisation

RTD Research and Technological Development

RTO Research and Technological Organization

SME Small and Medium Enterprises

SMWA Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport

SMWK Saxon State Ministry for Science and Art (Saxony)

TSV Through Silicon Via

WFS Saxony Economic Development Corporation

WP Work Package

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List of figures

Figure 1: Smart specialisation made in Saxony ............................................................................. 15

Figure 2: Value chain Silicon Saxony .............................................................................................. 19

Figure 3: Market focus Silicon Saxony ............................................................................................ 19

Figure 4: Rhone-Alpes priorities and S3 Domains ........................................................................ 29

Figure 5: Value chain Minalogic ....................................................................................................... 36

Figure 6: Market focus Minalogic ..................................................................................................... 37

Figure 7: Nanotechnologies for health as smart specialisation. .................................................. 40

Figure 8: Value chain DSP Valley .................................................................................................... 43

Figure 9: Market focus DSP Valley .................................................................................................. 44

Figure 10: Smart Specialisation HTNL ............................................................................................ 48

Figure 11: Value chain High Tech NL.............................................................................................. 53

Figure 12: Market focus High Tech NL ............................................................................................ 53

Figure 13: Value chain ME2C ........................................................................................................... 61

Figure 14: Market focus ME2C ......................................................................................................... 61

Figure 15: Value chain Silicon Europe ............................................................................................ 62

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List of tables

Table 1: Overview SWOT Saxony (Germany) Strengths/Weaknesses .............................. 10

Table 2: Overview SWOT Saxony (Germany) Opportunities/Threats ................................. 11

Table 3: Overview SWOT Rhne-Alpes (France) Strengths/Weaknesses ......................... 20

Table 4: Overview SWOT Rhne-Alpes (France) Opportunities/Threats ........................... 21

Table 5: Overview SWOT Flanders (Belgium) ............................................................................ 38

Table 6: Overview SWOT South and East Netherlands Strengths/Weaknesses .............. 45

Table 7: Overview SWOT South and East Netherlands Opportunities/Threats ................. 46

Table 8: Overview SWOT Carinthia (Austria) Strengths/Weaknesses ................................ 54

Table 9: Overview SWOT Carinthia (Austria) Opportunities/Threats .................................. 55

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1. Introduction

Silicon Europe unites the technological expertise and resources of Europes leading players in

micro- and nanoelectronics. They join forces to strengthen Europes position as the worlds

leading centre for energy efficient electronics while effectively working to counteract the

increasing energy demand.

The SWOT analysis has been developed to investigate, next to the cartography (D2.1), in more

depth, the typical properties of the 5 clusters and to explore the potential for each region for a

smart specialisation strategy. As such the SWOT analysis is a useful tool to support the

positioning of Europe in its role as a world-leader in terms of research, development and

production of the key enabling technology of micro- and nanoelectronics with a vision of the

goals for Europe 2020. This analysis supports and further extends the collaboration between

the high-potential European clusters towards a Joint Action Plan in WP3 on local and regional

levels as well as on a European level to enable the implementation of a smart specialisation

strategy for each region.

All the relevant data for the SWOT analysis has been collected through an elaborated process,

through interviews and workshops, involving experts from companies, cluster organisations,

research institutes, universities and public authorities. Further assessment of the gathered

information was done in several project sessions with all partners.

Based on this regional data, a structured European matrix will be developed in D2.3 which

contains, in a condensed form, the most important elements of the SWOT. This format then

allows a comparison of the data and an evaluation of the joint strengths and the individual

complementarities needed to build a strong cluster cooperation.

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2. Regional SWOT analysis of Saxony / Germany

2.1. Overview SWOT

Table 1: Overview SWOT Saxony (Germany) Strengths/Weaknesses

Strengths Weaknesses

Competence for high-volume chip

production by Infineon and

Globalfoundries,

most powerful micro-chip production in

Europe (every 2nd chip made in Europe is

from Saxony)

Silicon Saxony as core of the ICT cluster

(2,100 enterprises, 51,000 employees)

Strong research landscape (9 universities

with over 100,000 students - approx.

45,000 relevant for MNE -, 13 relevant

Fraunhofer institutes, HZDR, 3 relevant

institutes of the Leibniz Association, 3

relevant institutes of the Max Planck

Society

Working technology transfer structure

(Namlab, GWT, 20 Technology Centres

and Incubators, 5 cross-university start up

initiatives)

Dedicated education schemes on worker

level (dual study, professional schools)

Strong strategic cooperation between

Cluster and the regional authorities

Real triple helix managed high-tech region

Microelectronic as enabler identified in the

regional smart specialisation strategy

2.88% (1.6% public) of the Saxon domestic

product is used for R&D -> 5th in German

ranking

Silicon Saxony is recognized as strongest

microelectronic cluster in Europe

Competence for energy efficiency in Cool

Silicon Cluster ranked as the strongest

national leading edge cluster (BMBF)

Technology:

Vast experience in high volume production (More Moore and More than Moore, 200mm and 300mm)

Strong industrial base for equipment makers, materials

3D-integration, smart systems-integration

Application competence for automotive, engineering, energy, medical

Small-scale structures of Saxon economy

(many SMEs, no headquarters of large

companies in Saxony)

Systems and final-products approach

(weakness at the end of the value chain)

Lack of Venture Capital and Business

Angels

Lack of structured innovation management

within the companies

Decline in start-ups (start-up intensity with

61 per 10,000 working people is below the

German average 78)

Insufficient use of knowledge transfer

structures

Low proportion (approximately 15%) of

women in MINT-subjects (mathematics, IT,

natural sciences, engineering)

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Table 2: Overview SWOT Saxony (Germany) Opportunities/Threats

Opportunities Threats

Cross cluster cooperation for enhancement

of innovation

Coordination of the research activities of

the European Clusters regarding the

market trends

better cooperation between the key players

in industry and RTOs in Europes

Microelectronics Clusters => indispensable

for future growth

Alignment of European, national and

regional strategies (European Strategy on

microelectronics, Innovation Strategy) and

respective measures

Strategy alignment with application

industries

Focus on consumer products/industries

(high potential of multiplication), create

new player for consumer products

More foundations of technological start-ups

than German average and above-average

potential for technology-oriented start-ups

from universities and research institutes

Growth of software segment 500

employees in Dresden, research institutes

for embedded software and systems

(cyber-physical systems), more systems

provider companies (e.g. server,

embedded products etc.)

Technology:

Continue with More Moore and More than

Moore with the goal of convergence as well

venturing Beyond-CMOS

Interdisciplinary cooperation with

biotechnology, organic electronics,

optoelectronics, mechanical engineering,

agriculture, health care

Microelectronic as enabler/driver for future

Mega Trends (Industry 4.0, smart mobility)

Many changes in cyber-physical systems

engineering (Smart City, Smart Logistics,

Smart Factory, Smart Car, Smart Grid,

Smart Systems, Smart Lighting, Cyber

Security)

Existing European regulation of

competition and investment

Supply and technology dependency on

Asian 450mm Foundries

Decrease of EU funding (structural funds)

Lack of national co-financing within ECSEL

Increasing energy costs through current

national energy policy (Energiewende)

Demographical change => decreasing

start-up activities and potential lack of

skilled staff

Challenge of successor establishment for

SMEs

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Strengths

Main strengths within the Silicon Saxony cluster are related to the long experience on 300mm,

including pioneering and high volume production. A further strength on the industrial side is

related to equipment manufacturers and suppliers in accordance with D2.1.

On the research side, the high number of institutions including a German excellence university

and a German leading edge cluster (Cool Silicon) are the main assets.

Last, but not least, there are strong connections to the local and regional authorities already,

reflecting the presence of a real and working triple helix structure within the cluster.

In terms of potential further growth, the presence of numerous start-up initiatives as well as

existing technology transfer structures are considered as strengths within the cluster.

Weaknesses

On the other hand, the use of this existing structure in terms of countable growing (new)

companies is a weakness. Also the structure of the cluster itself, combining mainly SMEs

together with a lack of headquarters of big companies is considered to be a weakness, leading

also to a lack of capital on cluster level. On the technical side, the missing systems and final-

products approach forms a weakness at the end of the value chain.

Opportunities

Main opportunities arise from increase of cooperation and alignment of existing strategies on

various levels, in particular from better cooperation between the key players in industry and

RTOs in Europes Microelectronics Clusters, an alignment of European, national and regional

strategies (European Strategy on microelectronics, Innovation Strategy) and respective

measures as well as strategy alignment with application industries.

Threats

Biggest threats on local/regional level are the demographic development in Germany, the lack

of national co-financing for important new funding programmes, in particular ECSEL and

increasing energy costs through current national energy policy (Energiewende).

2.2. Analysis of regional knowledge transfer

One of the biggest assets of Saxony and in particular the greater Dresden area is an

established strong cooperation between science, industry and administration that has been

grown over the last 20 years.

Regional knowledge transfer is strong between SMEs and large industries: experts work

closely together on topics like e.g. cleanroom technology, high automation, robotics or wafer

inspection. The results are then being used within manufacturing landscape of Silicon Saxony

and for new products which are mainly sold by the SMEs to semiconductor industries

worldwide.

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There is a strong and excellent research landscape: From more than 100,000 students, a share

of approximately 43% is engaged in the so called MINT- area (Mathematics, Engineering,

Natural Sciences, Technical Sciences), i.e. in subjects that are relevant to the semiconductor

field. Despite various initiatives1, the proportion of women in MINT-subjects is still low with

approximately 15%.

Consequently, Saxony has the highest rate of researchers (1st in Germany ranking): there are

31,44 researchers per 1,000 inhabitants.

The most important and relevant universities and research organisations in the greater

Dresden area are:

TU Dresden, University of Excellence with excellence cluster cfAED

Hochschule fr Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden (University of Applied Science)

Technische Universitt Bergakademie Freiberg

3 institutes of the Max Planck Society

6 institutes of the Leibniz Association

1 institute of the Helmholtz Association

12 institutes of the Fraunhofer Society and other private institutes

They are connected by DRESDEN concept a unique structure that allows to combine the

strengths of the single players. DRESDEN concept is an acronym and stands for Dresden

Research and Education Synergies for the Development of Excellence and Novelty2.

The good connection to the industry is reflected by the fact that numerous professorships are

being supported by industry. The following are relevant for the field of micro- and

nanoelectronics:

Vodafone Chair Mobile Communication Systems (since 1999)

AREVA Endowed Chair of Imaging Techniques in Energy and Process

Engineering (since 2009)

Endowed chair for ultra precision treatment with Iones and Plasmes (since 2013)

Endowed chair for Organic Photovoltaics (since 2013)

Endowed professorship for cfAED (since 2013)

The education structure furthermore features dedicated schemes on worker level (e.g. dual

study, professional schools).

The great scientific potential already leads to more foundations of technological start-ups than

in German average 3 and above-average potential for technology-oriented start-ups from

universities and research institutions. 4 cross-university start-up initiatives (Dresden exists,

1 See e.g. http://www.komm-mach-mint.de 2 www.dresden-concept.de 3 Innovationsstrategie.sachsen.de, page 32

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SAXEED, SMILE, Grnderakademie Lausitz) deliver technical support while setting up a

business.

Regarding finance, there are so called Seed-Stipendien (financial support for a team of max.

3 people setting up a business), the Technologiegrnderfonds Sachsen (TGFS) as well as a

business plan competition futureSAX with prices and a dedicated innovation prize (50,000

EUR)4.

Generally, there is a rather high level of publicly funded research and development => 2.88%

(1.6% public) of the Saxon domestic product is being used for R&D (5th in German ranking).

In terms of supportive infrastructure, the existence of numerous business incubators and

technology centres to support technology transfer is worth mentioning, e.g.:

BioInnovationsZentrum,

Nanocenter Dresden,

TechnologieZentrumDresden,

Business & Innovation Centre Leipzig,

Grnder- und Gewerbezentrum Lbtauer Strae,

Grnder- und Innovationszentrum Freiberg/Brand-Erbisdorf GmbH,

Rossendorfer Technologiezentrum,

Technologie Centrum Chemnitz,

Technologie- und Grnderzentrum Bautzen,

Technologieorientiertes Grnder- und Dienstleistungszentrum Annaberg,

TechnologiePark Mittweida

Technologie- und Grnderzentrum Freital

The so called Hightech Startbahn5 is still a quite young initiative, currently run still as research

project that shall deliver support during the important growth phase.

2.3. Existing regional smart specialisation strategies

The State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport (SMWA) initiated a study that

resulted in an Innovationsstrategie (innovation strategy) that was published in July 20136.

The strategy consists of a detailed analysis of the present situation and contains an action plan

for the Free State of Saxony (2014-2020) with regard to innovation issues closely orientated

on the RIS 3 Guide7.

4 http://www.mittelstand.sachsen.de/4475.html

5 www.hightech-startbahn.de 6 http://www.innovationsstrategie.sachsen.de/ 7 http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/s3pguide

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Though the strategy was drafted and edited by the SMWA, it is closely linked and harmonized

to other regional strategies and action plans by other relevant regional authorities.

On the technical side, the Innovationsstrategie (innovation strategy) basically defines

priorities for Saxony, namely all key enabling technologies (KETs): Micro- and

Nanoelectronics, ICT, Nanotechnology, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing

systems, biotechnology and photonics.

A specific growth potential is seen for micro- and nanoelectronics with focus on 3D-integration,

smart systems integration, organic electronics and photonics.

Identified future markets are: health, environment, energy, raw materials, mobility, digital and

communication.

Figure 1: Smart specialisation made in Saxony

The existing and longstanding cooperation and the regular meetings between all regional

decision-makers (local: City of Dresden, regional: SMWA, SMWK, WFS) ensures an early

involvement of the cluster staff in the development of new strategic guidelines (e.g. Saxon

innovation strategy). The excellent collaboration between regional decision-makers and the

Silicon Saxony Cluster is also reflected by a direct synchronization of action plans defined in

the Silicon Saxony Strategy since 2013.

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2.4. Existing regional cluster policies and initiatives

Regional instruments for cluster support

One of the most relevant cluster policy, connected also to funding, is GRW-Frderung fr

Kooperationsnetzwerke und Clustermanagement (funding of cooperation networks and

cluster management)8.

Die GRW-funding is limited to selected (German) regions. The objective of the policy is to

sustainably strengthen the regional investments using a self-for-self-help-approach finally

leading to the creation of permanently competitive employment in the respective region.

Further (national) instruments for cluster support are the BMBF Innovation Initiative

"Entrepreneurial Regions ("Zwanzig20) in which recently 10 projects have been selected,

each of them funded with approximately 50 Million EUR and 5 of them led by Saxon institutions

(please see also section 2.5).

Last, but not least, there are nationally funded projects like Cool Silicon9 (funded by the Federal

Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Leading-Edge-Cluster Competition) and the Go

Cluster initiative by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

2.5. Existing economic development policies

The most relevant regional economic development policy is the already mentioned

Saxon innovation strategy (see also 2.3).

It was set up following the requirement of establishing priorities for EU-funding (2014-2020)

with a focus on smart specialisation. Micro- and nanoelectronics as one of the key enabling

technologies has been identified as one of the most important enablers of growth and

economic development in the region.

The overall objective is the creation of innovation-friendly framework conditions as well as

strengthening the innovation processes through reorientation of the general regional business

development programmes to promote business innovation.

Further aims are safeguarding of skilled manpower potential as well as focussing of research

activities through increasing promotion of excellence and concentrating on KETs.

The identified future markets are health and nutrition, environment and resources, energy, raw

materials, mobility as well as digital communication.

8 http://www.foerderdatenbank.de/Foerder-DB/Navigation/Foerderrecherche/suche.html?get=views;document&doc=373 9 www.cool-silicon.de

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The Innovationsstrategie (innovation strategy) is closely linked and harmonized to the

Technology and innovation policy in the Free State of Saxony (drafted by SMWK,

regional). The primary objective of this policy is strengthening public and private research.

Further objectives are:

increasing the attractiveness of the Saxon region for international scientists

strengthening technology oriented networks and clusters

supporting R&D activities of enterprises

intensification of transfer process science-economy

development of a research driven infrastructure

Technically, there is a certain focus on: biological and medical technologies, chemical and

physical technologies, energy technologies, manufacturing technologies, micro- and

nanotechnologies, software- and information technologies, environmental technologies and

materials technologies. However, generally this policy is considered to be technologically

neutral, i.e. there is no real focus on any type of technology, sector or branch.

One of the respective funding instruments is called FuE-Verbundprojektfrderung (funding of

R&D cooperation projects, from 2014 decrease of European Regional Development Fund

(ERDF)). Another one is the Kooperationsfrderung im Rahmen der Mittelstandsfrderung

(funding of cooperation for promoting SME, since 07/2013 only for running projects).

Very recently, a new co-financing programme for the MNE-initiatives of the EU with regional

funding share and focus on More than Moore was announced. It is based on the definition of

priorities for 2014-2020 in the Saxon innovation strategy.

At the same time, the founding of Silicon Germany took place as an initiative to connect MNE

with the user-industry.

The following paragraph lists the most relevant national policies/funding programmes:

Central Innovation Programme SME (Zentrales Innovationsprogramm

Mittelstand ZIM), BMWi

Entrepreneurial Regions (BMBF) - The BMBF Innovation Initiative for the New

German federal states (Unternehmen Region)

Zwanzig20 Partnership for Innovation, since 2012: winning projects led by

Saxon players and relevant for the field of micro- and nanoelectronics are

smart (materials solutions growth), FAST fast actuators sensors and

transceivers and Flex+.

Additionally, there is the Excellence cluster competition by BMBF, in which the local initiative

Cool Silicon forms one of the frontrunner projects.

The overall policy document for all initiatives on national level is the so called High-Tech

Strategy for Germany10 (BMBF).

10 http://www.hightech-strategie.de/

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2.6 Evaluation of European and international context

Several years ago, Silicon Saxony started a cooperation with Minalogic, named Dresden/

Grenoble Cluster Initiative, to strengthen the ties between the two largest MNE clusters in

Europe. Based upon this cooperation the Silicon Europe Cluster project has been initiated.

The idea was to enhance the cooperation with other active European MNE clusters. For the

further development of the project it is planned to broaden the scope by cooperating

internationally in order to remain competitive.

For the implementation of EU projects the TU Dresden plays a clear leading role in terms of

numbers of projects and the involvement of cluster members. In comparison to other European

countries it must be particularly mentioned that the national co-financing within ENIAC was

considerably lower than elsewhere, hindering the implementation of some potential interesting

projects.

For a further evaluation of EU funding programmes and also opportunities on that see also

section 3.6.

2.7 Technological view

As shown in deliverable 2.1, the cluster covers basically the whole value chain with a strong

focus on equipment. The identified strengths and focussed areas with regard to technology

are:

300mm More Moore Fab, 300mm Power Devices Fab

Vast experience in high volume production on 300mm

More Moore (SOI Technology)

More than Moore (3D system integration, smart systems)

Strong industrial base for equipment and materials

Organic electronics (flexible and printed electronics)

Internet of things (cyber-physical systems)

Energy (storage technologies)

Biotechnology (in particular biosensors)

To link the technological view with the semiconductor value chain the results from D2.1

overview on RTD offers and demands were combined with the SWOT analysis data. The result

- a qualitative assessment for the whole ecosystem of Saxony region - is shown in figure 2.

The size and colour of the bubbles indicate in which areas Saxony has particularly high

competences compared to the other regions. These are the fields: fabs, equipment and

materials (bigger bubbles with red colour).

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Figure 2: Value chain Silicon Saxony

The technological view has a strong interaction with the identified future markets: health,

environment, energy, raw materials, mobility, digital and communication as described inside

the regional smart specialisation strategies (chapter 2.3). Several of those markets are served

already by the Silicon Saxony cluster, which has been explored in D2.1 and is shown in figure

3.

Figure 3: Market focus Silicon Saxony

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3 Regional SWOT analysis of Rhne-Alpes / France

3.1. Overview SWOT

Table 3: Overview SWOT Rhne-Alpes (France) Strengths/Weaknesses


R&D infrastructure & excellence: Leti,

ESC (synchrotron),

Nanocharacterization platform; 6500

jobs in research in microelectronics and

embedded software

Industrial leaders on semiconductor and

applications (e.g. ST+ Schneider)

Critical mass and concentration of jobs

in Rhne- Alpes (1/3 of French jobs of

the microelectronics sector)

Scientific & technology activities (high

number of patents/population)

Talents & Education quality & diversified

Innovative environment Grenoble is in

5th position in the Forbes ranking on

World's 15 Most Inventive Cities

(number of patents by inhabitants)

High start-up creation rate

Complete digital value chain

IRT platform 3D/photonics on silicon/

characterisation, part of Frances

stimulus package

EDA & Chip Design: strong community

Policies and tax incentives for R&D at

national and regional level.

Technology:

FDSOI for CMOS low power & MEMS

Imaging: analog design, materials for

photon conversion, packaging including

optics

Silicon Photonics

Design: multi-core architecture, mixed

signa, asynchronous circuit

Critical mass in software

3D integration

Improve market-based approach versus

techno pull

International visibility of ecosystem and

companies

Leverage of private investment for R&D

and for business development

Growth of SMEs

Attract more integrators

Attract more fabless companies

Not enough application platforms

In technological terms:

Not enough equipment manufacturers

No manufacturing of masks

No power electronics

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Table 4: Overview SWOT Rhne-Alpes (France) Opportunities/Threats

Strengths

Minalogic operates within a favourable environment. Gold Labelled for cluster management

excellence in 2012, the cluster is located in Grenoble, a city ranked by Forbes in July 2013 as

the world's fifth most inventive city, and more broadly in the Rhne-Alpes region, one of the

biggest French regions, highly dynamic in demographic, economic and innovation terms. The

Rhne Alpes region's positive qualities were highlighted in the recently published "Strategy for

smart specialisation": 2.8% of its GDP is invested in research (only two other French regions

invest more); 2nd at the national level in terms of patents and 10th at the European level

according to the European Patent Office data.

Furthermore, Grenoble is renowned for the excellence of its research sector which represents

6,500 jobs in microelectronics and embedded software. The CEA-leti (1,500 people, around

250 patents per year, 2 or 3 start-ups created per year) and of around 19 expert academic

laboratories linked to micro- and nanoelectronics up to embedded software contribute heavily

to the patent production that put Grenoble at number five on the Forbes list. Numerous

technological specialisations exist from low power electronics to digital imaging, EDA and chip

Opportunities Threats

Smart specialisation

Interclustering at the national level

Interclustering at the European &

international level

R&D potential collaborations

Horizon 2020 funding and KETs

initiative (strategy micro-and

nanoelectronics)

National procurement for digital

economy

Use our start up pool

Demonstrators to be launched on a

regional level

Links with applications (integrators)

Technology:

Photonics

MEMS, Sensors & systems

Large-area electronics

LED lighting

IC integration in energy efficiency,

medical devices, transportation (control

and mobility), mobility in consumer

devices (e.g. FDSOI, Big data), digital

imaging, in traditional industry

(production and products)

Lack of investors in micro- and

nanotechnologies

Lack of interest for technical studies

Dependency on public support

Critical size to compete globally

Competition from Asia

Transport accessibility

D2.2


design. They are connected to an excellent R&D infrastructure and to numerous platforms (e.g.

IRT/ photonics on silicon/ characterisation/ 3D)

Minalogic and the Grenoble ecosystem also benefit from the quality of the local universities

and therefore from qualified people who are, in the vast majority, hired locally. The University

Joseph Fourier was ranked in the top 150 world universities in the Shanghai Ranking 2012.

INP Grenoble ranked first in Material Sciences amongst the French higher education

institutions ahead of ENS Paris, Ecole Polytechnique and INSA in Lyon and placed 35th

worldwide in this subject area in the QS World University Rankings. The institution is amongst

the 200 best universities worldwide in 3 out of 5 other subject areas: Information Technology,

Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. It ranked 94th in engineering and

technology.

Grenoble also benefits from the presence of key international players along the entire value

chain from materials (SOITEC) to the design of chips & the manufacturing of chips and systems

(ST Microelectronics, E2V Semiconductors) to applications (Schneider Electric), and from

highly innovative start-ups that operate in niche markets (e.g. Isorg, Crocus Technology,

DeltaDrone) and contribute to the innovation dynamism of the city.

The city also benefits from technology transfer, as described below. Start-up creation is also

booming.

Minalogic gathers 225 members on its two strategic domains that make it master the entire

digital value chain: micro- and nanotechnologies and software. Amongst them, the micro- and

nanoelectronics members amount to 36,000 jobs in micro- and nanoelectronics. They

represent a critical mass and a high concentration of jobs: 1/3 of the national jobs in the sector

are located in Rhne Alpes. Furthermore, a study carried out on ST Microelectronics by

Reverdy in 2012, revealed that for every job in microelectronics, at least two more are created

indirectly, either within the supply chain, or elsewhere in the local economic environment.

Another strength of the cluster is that it contributes tremendously to the long-standing and

fruitful local tradition of collaborative R&D between public research organisations and

companies. It has certified 233 projects since its creation, for a total R&D budget of 1,791

billion Euro, including 692 Million Euro of public funding (local authorities, national government

and European structural funds).

The high level of research and development in the area facilitates the creation of new

companies, using this new technology in business, this is key in putting the research to the

test and in inciting new, creative and innovative uses for the technology developed.

In technological terms, Grenoble, within the Rhne Alpes region, is a key player as regards

low power electronics (FDSOI) and MEMS; in terms of imagers, and has a critical mass in

software.

Weaknesses

A number of weaknesses or areas in need of improvement have nevertheless been identified

at the cluster level. Firstly, Grenoble functions in a techno-pull way. It is a clear focus of

Minalogics new strategy for 2013-2018, and of other local partners, to work on improving the

market-based approach and to make sure that the result of academic research is

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commercialised but also that research better takes into account the needs of the companies

in terms of market shares.

Another challenge that is faced locally is connected to the size of SMEs. An important number

of Minalogics members are very small (less than 15 employees) and face difficulty in reaching

the mid-size level. It is also part of our strategy to help them grow.

A third challenge we face is related to attracting more integrators and fabless companies to

Rhne-Alpes, these entities could benefit from Grenoble's infrastructure while linking micro-

and nanotechnologies to applications.

Another weakness is that it is very difficult for local microelectronics companies to find private

investors willing to invest in highly technology-intensive companies. It is one of our priorities to

work on leveraging private investment for R&D and business development in our sector.

Finally, one can also mention international visibility as one current challenge which we are

currently working on.

Opportunities

A number of opportunities have been identified at cluster level for the coming months and

years. First, it is certain that interclustering at the national level with application clusters

and at the European level with partnerships such as Silicon Europe will generate

opportunities for the cluster and for its members, in terms of R&D collaboration, business,

networking and visibility.

One ambition of Silicon Europe is to generate project ideas under Horizon 2020. It is also

anticipated that smart specialisation will generate new ideas for the R&D infrastructure to push

forward together for financing under the structural funds at the regional level. The Rhne Alpes

region did not perform well under FP7 and opportunities are there to improve the number of

projects and SMEs benefiting from Horizon 2020 funding. It is expected from DG Connect that

Silicon Europe partners will make sure the European strategy for microelectronics is known at

the regional level and taken into account in the structural funds.

Silicon Europe can and should provide input to the European Commission in policy terms, the

partner clusters representing the voice of the SMEs. It is also our common ambition to generate

new ideas and make sure they are integrated in the work programmes of organisations such

as CATRENE or ECSEL.

Interclustering at the European level, and specifically Silicon Europe, will allow for identifying

partners complementarities and make the most of best practices to overcome the identified

weaknesses and threats, including in terms of international visibility.

Microelectronics being a Key Enabling Technology, a strong opportunity will exist to come up

with ideas for projects in line with Horizon 2020. One opportunity will also be to inject

intelligence and microelectronics into traditional industry at the regional, national and European

levels.

Finally, other identified opportunities relate to public procurement as a means to enable

microelectronics to gain new markets and in pushing in favour of demonstrators. A specific

working group has been organised at the regional level, uniting stakeholders from the

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microelectronics as well as from the energy and healthcare sector in order to implement 3 local

full scale urban demonstrators in the field of energy efficiency, mobility and transport, as well

as organising services and devices for care at home of elderly or disabled persons.

In technological terms, the cluster has identified the following topics as sources of

opportunities:

Photonics

MEMS, Sensors & systems

IC integration in energy efficiency, medical devices, transportation (control and

mobility), mobility in consumer devices (e.g. FDSOI, Big data), digital imaging, in

traditional industry (production and products)

Threats

Last but not least, our SWOT analysis for Grenoble, Rhne-Alpes highlighted some threats

which are linked to the external environment. Amongst them, besides transport accessibility,

one can cite the lack of private investment in microelectronics; the dependency of some of the

cluster members on public support (investments in microelectronics) and the fact that

Grenoble's economy is so concentrated on the semiconductors and their use for

microelectronics that the closure or a change of location of these companies would have a

detrimental effect on the local economy. This highlights the importance of diversifying the use

of the semiconductors, by branching out to using them for ICT, energy and biotechnology, for

example.

3.2. Analysis of regional knowledge transfer

The regional knowledge transfer system might be qualified as fairly well organised, with

international recognition in the innovation process as a whole. One very recent ranking by

Forbes, which took into account the ratio population/patents, called patent intensity, ranked it

among the most effective worldwide. Interestingly enough, Eindhoven ranked first in this

ranking, with Grenoble following as closely as N.5.

Link of university curriculum to the industry needs

As far as microelectronics are concerned, this topic is well addressed in the Grenoble area,

both on a technical level, with Grenoble Institut National Polytechnique, and Sciences

University Joseph Fourier offering technical curricula, as well as on the innovation level, with

the management school Grenoble Ecole de Management addressing the innovation process.

Several double curriculum Masters degrees are proposed, combining management or political

science with engineering specialties.

All in all, 1,200 diplomas in microelectronics are awarded every year through Grenoble INP

engineering school and University Joseph Fourier.

Grenoble INP is one of the top French engineering schools and one of its schools, PHELMA,

is dedicated to micro- and nanotechnologies, and enrols close to 7,000 students in ICT

degrees. More than 450 students are enrolled each year in Phelma or in the Nanotech

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international school, delivering a common degree with Politechnico Torino (Italy) and EPFL in

Switzerland, as well as in the Communication Systems Engineering Master Degree designed

with the Polytechnico Torino.

Local companies are more and more active with regards to adapting the curricula to the

industrys needs. Some are represented on the board of the UJF, and Grenoble INP also has

a long standing tradition of close links with companies, which take the form of partnerships but

also of teaching by companies.

International recruiting and focus

50% of Grenoble engineering students go abroad during their studies

10% of students at Phelma are foreigners

20 different nationalities are studying in Grenoble (no more details disponible)

General core curricula

Based on a sound scientific base, they guarantee a well thought-out choice of the degree

course adapted to the professional context.

A diverse choice of specialisations

9 degree courses allow each student to find what best suits them and to develop their

professional project among a wide selection of trades in high-technology sectors.

Specific Fields addressed: applied physics, materials, electrochemistry, processes,

Nanoscience, electronics and information processing, nuclear engineering, component

physics, signal, image and sound processing, electronic design, instrumentation and

transmission systems

Besides addressing the theoretical and practical topics involved in microelectronics, the

educational organisations have a decidedly focused hands-on approach with access to

industrial type platforms, such as those proposed in the CIME Nanotech.

Set up on more than 2,800 m2, the Centre Interuniversitaire de MicroElectronique et

Nanotechnologies (Interuniversity Centre of Microelectronics and Nanotechnologies) is a

network including 8 platforms:

Clean room: 350 m2 dedicated to micro- and nanotechnologies

Electric characterisation

Nanoworld: for images at nanoscale

Design and testing of integrated circuits

Communicating objects: Systems On Chip

Microwave frequencies and guided optics

Biotechnologies

Micro-systems and sensors

The connection with industry is very strong, and maintained by 250 outside speakers from the

world of industry and research, including:

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170 research lecturers to train the researchers who will meet the challenges of

technological innovation.

11 partner labs

Partnership agreements with large companies and SMEs, which offer many work

placements, final-year projects or jobs, take part in the school's Partnership Day: an

annual event when students from the three years meet several dozen companies

(stands, conferences, mock interviews, etc.), contribute to teaching and

conferences on the different professions within engineering, participates on the

school's various boards and committees (Companies assist the way the school is

managed, enabling it to adapt its curriculum to developments in the different

professions), help with equipment and setting up educational platforms, prepare

student engineers for professional integration

A specific international programme in innovation management has been devised in partnership

with Grenoble Business School: the MSc in Innovation, Strategy and Entrepreneurship aims

at providing a framework and a toolkit for future managers and entrepreneurs to identify,

assess and manage business opportunities in either their own companies or in existing

organisations.

The programme reflects the realities of the global environment and provides general

management courses together with highly-specialised modules in the areas of Innovation,

Strategy and Entrepreneurship.

Knowledge transfer units

The region is very well known for its know-how in technology transfer, and its ability to create

numerous start-ups out of these technologies.

Future organisation

- Organisation in progress: future organisation pending French government

approval

A new comprehensive organisation, the SATT, including 13 partners, among them 8

stakeholders, with a programmed 57 Million Euro capital will be created. Its main

objective will be oriented towards start up creation with an objective for 400 companies

to be created over the next 10 years.

Current organisation

- Grenoble University: several tech transfer units depending on the field of

expertise, with tech transfer and start up creation activities, and most

specifically

Floralis for University Joseph Fourier

Guichet Unique de Valorisation for Grenoble INP with a private

subsidiary INPG SA in charge of sales, marketing and services

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Mutualised organisations for research tech transfer:

GRAVIT (Grenoble Alpes Valorisation et Innovation Technologique)

for accompanying labs in their process of technological transfer towards

industry (licensing, spin offs, partnerships etc.)

GRAIN - Grenoble Alpes Innovation et Incubation, for start-up

incubation

PTALE - Ppinire Technologie Alpine d'Entreprises, for helping newly

born start-ups in their development

CEA TECH

- Specific tech transfer offer deployed by CEA in France, positioned between

levels 3 & 7 on the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) scale

Activities common to the different organisations:

Research programmes

Licenses

Spin-offs, start-ups

Incubators

Science parks

Venture management

Seed money

VCs

Partnerships

Clustering

Industry lectureships at universities/research institutes

At the Minatec campus:

250 outside speakers from the world of industry and research at PHELMA

ENGINEERING SCHOOL

Midis Minatec: every week an industrial, research or institutional leader presents a

topic broadly related to the Minatec campus in 1/2h slot, with free access to all

nearby stakeholders (students, researchers, companies, institutions)

At University Joseph Fourier and the University campus:

The Keynotes international researchers invited to share their vision, particularly

in computer science

Citizenship initiatives, organised partly by university Joseph Fourier, offer as well

the opportunity to share scientific or technical matters with local citizens, such as

Caf des sciences.

The annual national event Fte de la science in October, is also a broad

opportunity for scientists from the local industrial or the research labs to showcase

their most innovative products and solutions to the population.

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3.3. Existing regional smart specialisation strategies

Diagnosis of the state of innovation:

To prepare the Regional Innovation Strategy, an extensive diagnosis of the state of innovation

in Rhne-Alpes has been made. Some weaknesses have been underlined, such as low

funding capacities and low performances on EU projects, pointing to the necessity to fully

integrate the Europe 2020 priorities into the Regional Innovation Strategy. However, the

diagnosis also highlights Rhne-Alpess strengths, such as its diversified economic

environment, its many funding programmes to promote innovation and its tradition of social

dialogue. These features account for its good level of investment in research, the high number

of businesses created and the very strong performance on collaborative R&D.

In particular, the role of Clusters and Competitiveness Clusters has to be stressed as one of

Rhne-Alpes main attributes. Competitiveness Clusters are part of Frances national

economic policy since 2005 while Clusters have been created by Rhne-Alpess regional

authority as early as 2004 to foster regional economic development. This policy has been

successful as some of the Competitiveness Clusters, such as Lyon Biopole (specialising in

infectious diseases and vaccines), Minalogic (nanotechnology) or Axelera (chemistry), have

since acquired an international dimension. Rhne-Alpess goal in creating Clusters is to

connect all groups of players and to cover all factors in business performance while organising

cross-fertilisation between different disciplinary fields. The development of clusters allows the

region to focus on small and medium sized companies growth and to enhance the economic

attractiveness of Rhne-Alpes

These elements are the basis for the regional strategy for 2011-2015, which seeks to foster

balanced regional economic development by promoting innovation, international

attractiveness and territorial solidarity, entrepreneurship and industries support and

development.

Objectives of the Regional Innovation Strategy & Smart Specialisation (RIS3):

The Regional Innovation Strategy has three objectives.

The first is to improve efficiency of the regional innovation environment. The region

will help technological innovation by enabling cross-disciplinary approaches and

transfer of KETs (Key Enable Technologies), promoting entrepreneurship and

innovation and supporting SMEs and mid-sized businesses' growth. Finally, the

region will improve its support for European projects linked to the Horizon 2020

Strategy.

The second objective is to discover and explore new innovation areas and provide

solutions to societal challenges. This objective will be achieved by promoting user

driven innovation and territorial experimentation to meet the needs of the market

and giving a greater role to innovation in public procurement. Social innovation,

which aims to develop social entrepreneurship and environmental transition of

economy, will also play a major role.

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The third objective is to focus on smart specialisation topics: 7 domains, defined

by a combined analysis of societal challenges, KETs and markets, that are most

likely to create growth: personalised healthcare for infectious and chronic diseases;

an eco-efficient factory; smart grids and energy storage; smart building with high

energy-efficiency; digital technologies and user-friendly systems; mobility systems

of the future; sports, safety and infrastructures in the Alps.

Figure 4: Rhone-Alpes priorities and S3 Domains

Especially 3 out of the 7 strategic domains are more linked to Minalogic, as a co-leader:

Smart grids and energy storage, in collaboration with Tenerrdis (cluster for

renewable energies)

Smart building with high energy-efficiency, in collaboration with Tenerrdis (cluster

for renewable energies)

Digital technologies and user-friendly systems, in collaboration with Imaginove

(cluster for imaging), connected in particular to health and ageing issues

The fact that microelectronics is considered as an important KET in the Rhone Alpes Smart

specialisation strategy certainly represents a strong opportunity for the cluster.

The strategy highlights in particular the following points: the new developments on this KET

are related to:

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More Moore: continue the technological progress (next CMOS generation) and

miniaturise below 20nm nodes

More than Moore: new functions such as Systems on a Chip (SoC), System in

Package (SiP).

Rhne-Alpes ranks 4th at the European level with regards to patents on this KET, behind

Bayern, Baden-Wrttemberg and the Ile de France region. The main sources of patents locally

are CEA, STMicroelectronics, Soitec, CNRS, Alcatel and E2V Semi-conducteur.

3.4. Existing regional cluster policies and initiatives

Since 2005, the cluster policy has been an overall strategy to boost innovation and

entrepreneurship, by connecting all groups of players: research, technology, higher education,

training and economic development to create partnerships and networking. Other partners may

be brought in, such as public authorities, either local or national, as well as firms providing

business services. The goal of competitiveness clusters is to build on synergies and spur

innovative, collaborative projects in order to give partner firms the chance to become first in

their fields, both in France and abroad. The clusters have the responsibility to certify

collaborative projects emanating from research labs and industry (SMEs and large groups)

which can then apply for public funding (national and local). The main programme dedicated

to the funding of R&D collaborative projects between the members of clusters (laboratories,

SMEs and large companies) is an interministerial fund called FUI (Fonds unique

interministriel). The projects are co-funded by the state and up to 40% by the local authorities.

In some cases the ERDF is also directed to this programme for co-funding purposes.

Competiveness clusters are linked by a performance contract with the state and local

authorities, defining their overall strategy and objectives. They are evaluated on a 6 year-basis.

Minalogic was evaluated as an "excellent performer" in 2012, one of the top 5 at the national

level, which is clearly a strength.

The cluster policy at local level is well-developed and clearly represents another strength.

Indeed, national statistics of the DGCIS show that Minalogic ranked first among all of the

regional clusters in terms of public funding from national sources (FUI), local authorities and

European sources (mainly FEDER) received by the collaborative projects it certified. (Source:

p27 smart specialisation strategy of Rhne-Alpes Region).

Furthermore, Rhne-Alps is renowned for its cluster policy, as it is the first French region to

have created clusters in 2004. It currently invests over 15 million Euro per year in total in cluster

policies and collaborative projects (FUI). As a result, regional projects at FUI calls for proposals

represented up to 50% of national projects. Even if there is no policy exclusively dedicated to

micro- and nanoelectronics, overall the region invested over 90 million Euro in the sector from

2006 to 2012, which represents around 30% of its total innovation spending (big projects,

cluster policy, technological platforms).

Micro- and nanoelectronics are considered by the European Commission to be Key Enabling

Technologies for the development of goods and services. KETs are regarded as crucial for

ensuring the future competitiveness of European industries in the knowledge economy. The

aim of Minalogic is also to create a global business ecosystem in the field of smart miniaturised

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solutions based on leadership in research and innovation and on the leading role of major

groups supporting the growth of SMEs.

Focusing on micro- and nanotechnology and software, Minalogic has been one of the first

international scale clusters to develop expertise in three strategic application markets central

to today's societal challenges: health (eHealth/MedTech); energy and environment; and

connectivity and mobility, where microelectronics and software have become essential in the

race for performance and energy efficiency.

Based on leadership in research and innovation, Minalogic has become a potent pool of

technology, in which global companies can integrate innovative technologies, developing new,

ground-breaking products and solutions. The major companies that have already tapped into

this pool of technologies include e.g. Schneider Electric, STMicroelectronics, HP, Orange or

Samsung.

As France's leading cluster in smart miniaturised solutions, Minalogic aims to achieve

recognition as one of the world's top clusters in the field of integrated circuits, miniaturised

devices, software and intelligent systems.

By 2018, as highlighted in its recently adopted 2013-2018 strategic roadmap, Minalogic's

ambition is to bring together all integrative industries around smart solutions, in order to create

innovative and competitive products.

Minalogic has recently set up new initiatives that can already be considered as best practices

and opportunities:

Easytech

A new programme was also recently created (called Easytech) with the objective to support

industrial technology transfer. Its main beneficiaries will be SMEs coming from traditional

industry. It will allow them to expand the range of products they offer to include innovative

technological bricks and accelerate their development. Again Minalogic assists SMEs in

designing successful projects and get public subsidies. A committee offers strategic coaching

during the process and accredits the best projects.

Support to demonstrators

A specific working group has been organised at the regional level, uniting stakeholders from

the microelectronics as well as from the energy and healthcare sector in order to implement 3

local full scale urban demonstrators in the field of energy efficiency, mobility and transport, as

well as organising services and devices for care at home of elderly or disabled persons.

Minalogic is a key actor of this initiative.

3.5. Existing economic development policies

In France the framework for the promotion of innovation is based on a transversal approach

between different ministries such as the Ministry for Economy and Finance, the Ministry for

Industry and the Ministry for Higher Education and Research. Different instruments and

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structures exist at the national level. Local and regional authorities mainly leverage national

policies, but are also often at the forefront for introducing new policies and placing them as top

priorities for innovation.

Rhne-Alpes is among the best performing French regions in terms of innovation and

economic development. Some statistics previously mentioned confirm this: 2.8% of its GDP is

invested in research (ranked 3rd in France); 2nd at the national level in terms of patents, and

10th at the European level according to European patent Office data. It is also good in terms

of economic development (see separate question) and the unemployment rate is lower than

the French average.

Its recently adopted regional innovation and smart specialisation strategy will represent an

opportunity for the cluster, as the region intends to deploy over the period 2014-2020 an action

plan structured in four parts for which instruments and funding will be made available:

Technological innovation, technology transfer and KETs

Support for innovative start up creation

Growth of very small companies, SMEs and medium size companies

Focus on Horizon 2020 and support for European projects definition

The City of Grenoble, along with other local authorities, including the Mtro, strives to support

the synergy between business, research institutes and universities which is the key to the city's

economic development.

Grenoble's Presqu'ile district, currently covering 250 hectares, with 300 housing units and

where 3,000 students study and 15,000 people work, is being transformed to house a world-

class innovation campus - GIANT, 25,000 employees, 10,000 students and 1,800 housing

units.

Grenoble is home to several large international companies, such as HP, Caterpillar and

STMicroelectronics, drawn to Grenoble because of its impressive infrastructure and reputation

for innovation. Over 500 of the companies based in Grenoble are foreign-owned.

The City of Grenoble directly supports clusters, such as Minalogic, companies, particularly

start-ups and SMEs, and research and development projects, via the clusters.

The City's support is both financial and practical, in terms of providing the necessary

infrastructure, for example office space. The City currently provides a space of 12,000m2

(CEMOI) for the use of start-up companies such as Delta Drone, BH Technologies and H2AD.

Grenoble also supports the incubators, GRAIN and PETALE, which exist to help start-ups get

off the ground by providing practical training, legal advice and opportunities to create

partnerships. The City is implicated in national programmes supporting projects such as Plan

Campus and CPER.

Furthermore, Grenoble's actions in terms of economic development are carried out in respect

of the European Union's goals for Europe 2020, focusing on cutting unemployment rates and,

notably, with the upmost respect for the environment.

The development projects in Grenoble make use of the wealth of scientific knowledge present

in the City, engaging researchers, scientists and students to collaborate in creating new

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innovative ways to save energy and to reduce pollution. The Presqu'ile project is designed to

render the area carbon neutral.

Finally many current major initiatives demonstrate the high economic development potential at

local level:

Nano 2017

In July, Jean-Marc Ayrault, Frances Prime Minister announced the states commitment of 600

Euro million - to which 100 Euro million should be added by local communities - in the

Nano2017 project.

This 3.5 Euro billion research and industrial development program involves primarily

STMicroelectronics, CEA-Leti and their local partners, and aims to achieve, by 2017, a new

technological breakthrough in the control and dissemination of nanoelectronics applications.

As ubiquitous and widely enabling key technologies, nanoelectronics are at the heart of all

major societal challenges and the subject of intense competition between the five major global

micro- and nano high tech ecosystems including Crolles-Grenoble.

Today, STMicroelectronics and CEA-Lti have unique skills in the world in FDSOI production

technologies, which is a key advantage for the most advanced digital and mobile applications.

Nano2017 should leverage Grenoble-Iseres leadership in this strategic technology sector, an

investment in line with European Unions 10/100/20 initiative.11

GIANT

In Grenoble, at the heart of the French Alps, the GIANT partnership is forging dynamic new

links between research and industry to foster the technological breakthroughs of the future. It

will gather 30,000 Men and Women with unique talents and first-class facilities, joining forces

to build a world-class campus. The aim of the GIANT project is to respond to major challenges

confronting our society today, such as:

Communication technologies

Renewenable energies and environmental problems

Bioscience and healthcare

GIANT hosts highly innovative institutions under a single banner:

From the academic world - Grenoble Ecole de Management (Grenoble EM),

Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP) and the University Joseph Fourier

(UJF)

Major French research institutions - CEA and CNRS

11 In reference to the European Union programmes goals of generating 10 Billion Euros public/private

funding for R&D, 100 Billion Euros investment for manufacturing, and 20% share of global chip

production market by 2020.

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Leading European laboratories - the ESRF light source, the ILL neutron source and

the EMBL for molecular biology

A funding of 1.3 billion Euro will be invested between 2010 and 2015, including 700 million

Euro on scientific research and 600 Euro million on transport, accommodation and quality of

life; 4.1 billion Euro are expected in terms of direct and indirect annual economic impact.

3.6. Evaluation of European and international context

The European Commission launched in May 2013 a campaign for coordinated public

investments in micro- and nanoelectronics (such as semiconductors and computer chips),

designed to expand Europe's advanced manufacturing base. The European electronics sector

underpins Europe's wider industrial competitiveness because it is a Key Enabling Technology

for other sectors, from energy to automotive to health. A growing electronics sector is essential

for growth and jobs in Europe.

Key elements of this industrial strategy include

1. Higher and more coordinated investments in R&D&I - maximising the impact of EU and

Member State investments through greater cross-border collaboration (70% of public

investment is expected to come from Member States, 30% from EU).

2. Reinforcing Europe's three world-class electronics clusters: Dresden (DE), Eindhoven

(NL) /Leuven (BE), and Grenoble (FR) and connecting with other leading edge

European clusters such as in Cambridge (UK), Carinthia (AT), Dublin (IRL) and Milan

(IT).

3. The strategy will focus on three complementary lines: making chips cheaper

(transitioning to 450mm-sized silicon wafers, the raw material for the chips), making

chips faster ("More Moore") and making chips smarter ("More than Moore").

4. Mobilising 10 billion Euro of private, regional, national and EU funds, behind a common

set of research and innovation goals, including 5 billion Euro through a joint Public-

Private Partnership. This seven-year partnership is designed to cover the whole value

and innovation chain in the electronics sector, including funding large-scale innovation

projects, under the EU's Horizon 2020 research programme.

Neelie Kroes aims at doubling the EU chip production to around 20% of global production.

All these elements represent strong opportunities for Silicon Europe partners.

Horizon 2020 and the forthcoming FEDER programming will also create opportunities for

Silicon Europe partners to come up with new R&D project proposals and to bring them closer

to the market.

At this stage the European market is still too fragmented, without any level-playing field, and

SMEs are not enough well represented in Horizon 2020 projects, two dimensions that the

clusters will be vigilant about.

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Outside of Europe, the growing competition from Asia and the US in terms of chips production

represent both an opportunity for partnerships and a threat.

3.7. Technological view

Amongst the key strengths of the ecosystem (both research organisations and companies) in

technological terms, we can highlight the following ones:

A strong weight in full time equivalent of our 5 IDMs - and mainly of

STMicroelectronics, one of the top 10 at world level -, which position the ecosystem

as excellent in terms of component manufacturing

A strength in design (which is also masterised by our IDMs by definition): multi-core

architecture, mixed signal , asynchronous circuit

The importance of the companies active in systems , both in terms of number of

companies and full time equivalent. There it is worth noting the ecosystems

expertise in application software and embedded software.

It is also important to note that our internal analysis demonstrated why Grenoble

valley is recognized as the imaging valley for the design and component

manufacturing in digital imaging (CMOS components and sensors, system

integration in modules, analog design, materials for photon conversion, packaging

including optics) with the presence of world best companies (e.g. Trixell, Ulis,

Sofradir, E2V, STmicroelectronics, Pyxalis or Isorg) and a generated cumulated

revenue of 1 billion Euro.

Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator, or FD-SOI. FD-SOI is a planar process

technology introducted by ST, CEA, Soitec and partners that delivers the benefits

of reduced silicon geometries while enabling a simplification of the manufacturing

process (CMOS low power)

3D integration and TSV, a critical issue as device designers and manufacturers

increasingly cross into the third dimension due to the industrys continuing pursuit

of building more functionality into ever-shrinking silicon real estate.

MEMS historical competence with IDMs Tronics, leti, ST

Silicon Photonics very active with ST

Identified sources of opportunities are linked to the following emerging technologies:

LED lighting with SMEs such as Aledia which develops and manufactures

innovative light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on a unique 3D architecture using

gallium-nitride (GaN)-on-silicon microwires

Large area electronics with companies such as ISORG which is a pioneering

company in Organic and Printed Electronics devices for large-area photonics and

image sensors with a technology revolutionizing the industry.

Sensors for health and biology

Link between hard and soft (the other strategic activity domain of Minalogic)

Finally a strong opportunity for the cluster and is to maintain and develop a strong

link with applications (e.g. automotive, health) including through interclustering at

D2.2


national and international levels to understand their technological needs and the

constraints linked to their markets

Identified weaknesses are related to the following technologies:

There are very few equipment manufacturers in the ecosystem members of

Minalogic

Power electronics is not developed

No manufacturing of masks

Finally some threats could be linked to the following aspects:

Stronger competition from Asia and the US

Develop the links between technology and applications (e.g. attract new integrators)

Maintain the capacity to invest in manufacturing and production

To link the technological view with the semiconductor value chain the results from D2.1

overview on RTD offers and demands were combined with the SWOT analysis data. The result

- a qualitative assessment for the whole ecosystem of Rhone Alpes region - is shown in figure

5. The size and colour of the bubbles indicates in which areas Rhone Alpes region has

particular high competences compared to the other regions. These are the fields: design, fabs

and systems (bigger bubbles with red colour).

Figure 5: Value chain Minalogic

The technological view has a strong interaction with the identified future markets: smart grids

and energy storage, smart building, digital technologies and user-friendly systems, health and

ageing issues as described inside the regional smart specialisation strategies (chapter 3.3).

Several of those markets will be served already by the Grenoble cluster, which has been

explored in D2.1 and is shown in figure 6.

D2.2


Figure 6: Market focus Minalogic

D2.2


4. Regional SWOT analysis of Flanders / Belgium

4.1. Overview SWOT

Table 5: Overview SWOT Flanders (Belgium)


World leader in broad interdisciplinary

research for micro- and nanoelectronics.

Accounts for 48% of employment

RTD platform for 300mm available and

450mm ready

Wide value chain from basic R&D to

system integration, covering a large

range of activities in micro- and

nanoelectronics

Innovation ecosystem build around imec

and KULeuven

World-level education and training offer

High potential in design with highly

skilled professionals

Most niche markets covered, but only

niche markets

Low-threshold access services to

advanced technologies

Smallest region but with important

cross-border activities

Wide valley-of-death between research

and industrial activities

Weak link between inte

Documents

D2 2 Regional SWOT Analysis 1 1