Founding of the KIT Chipdesign House at KIT – Institution to strengthen top-level research in chip design in Baden-Württemberg
From smartphones and computers to cars: almost all modern technologies are based on high-performance microchips. Demand clearly exceeds production in Germany. Leading semiconductor manufacturers come primarily from Asia and North America and supply producers worldwide with microchips. In order to drive forward production in Europe and further strengthen Germany as a location for innovation in chip design, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK) has now approved the establishment of the virtual Karlsruhe Chip Design House (KCH) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). This is to be established on KIT's South Campus by 2027. A new Master's degree program is also planned.
"The demand for powerful and efficient chips for digital transformation continues to grow," explains Professor Mehdi B. Tahoori from the Institute of Computer Engineering at KIT. "Most of the sales are made by chip giants outside Europe. Particularly during the energy crisis, when we had to reduce our production due to the cost of electricity, the great dependence on imports became apparent, for example in the case of silicon chips produced in Asia."
"There is an urgent need to promote production and its development opportunities in Europe in order to reduce critical global dependencies and secure the digital sovereignty of Germany and Europe," says Professor Oliver Kraft, representing the President. "The KCH bundles cutting-edge research in the field of chip design. With its expertise, KIT is the right location for this."
New degree program for future specialists
With the planned KIT Chipdesign House (KCH), KIT aims to take on a leading role in the coordination of chip design in Baden-Württemberg and beyond. The focus is on comprehensive training for chip design specialists. "At KCH, we want to develop an interdisciplinary Master's program in chip design together with partners," says Professor Jürgen Becker from the Institute of Information Processing Technology at KIT. "In addition to practice-oriented lectures, this should also offer workshops and events with experts from the industry to provide comprehensive training for future specialists and managers."
Strengthening the chip design ecosystem in Germany
The European Chip Act 2023 regulation was adopted as a package of measures to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in the EU. "The European Chips Act aims to promote semiconductor production and development opportunities in Europe," explains Becker. "Within this Chip Act, we want to bundle and expand expertise and networks in a targeted manner. Close integration with industry is an important component of this, for example through the targeted expansion of interdisciplinary training and further education in chip design at KIT."
The MWK is funding the KIT Chipdesign House in the BEGIN funding initiative (stands for: participation in major European projects and initiatives) with around one million euros until 2027.