The European Commission has approved €8.1bn in state aid for a microelectronics and communications research and development (R&D) project spanning 14 member states. The programme, which has been called IPCEI ME/CT, covers R&D across these products’ value chain, “from materials and tools to the chip designs and manufacturing processes”, staed the commission in a release on June 8 announcing the programme.

“Microchips are the backbone of innovation and of Europe’s industrial competitiveness in a digital world,” said Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s executive vice-president for competition, in a statement. “We need to be pioneers and develop truly innovative solutions and their first industrial deployment in Europe.”

The scheme covers 68 projects from 56 companies, envisages 180 envisaged cross-border collaborations, and is expected to unlock an additional €13.7bn in private investments. The 14 countries are Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. 

Iberdrola in R&D push

Spanish renewables giant Iberdrola plans to invest €4bn in research, development and innovation by 2030. Announcing the news at its Digital Summit in Madrid on June 7, the group said it represents double the amount spent in these areas over the past decade. 

In a statement, Iberdrola said: “Digitalisation should be transmitted to all areas of the company: from the network business to the renewables business, from sales to digital transformation, and from people to marketing.”

Key projects discussed during the summit include Iberdrola’s industrial metaverse, and Europe’s Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Energy Transition project, which Iberdrola leads.

Romania and Czech Republic get €2.1bn in EU funds

The European Commission has granted €2.4bn to seven member states to help modernise their energy systems, reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. The money is disbursed from the Modernisation Fund, which collects revenues from the EU’s emissions trading system and reallocates them to lower-income EU countries to help achieve climate neutrality. 

Under this latest disbursement, which was announced on June 8, Romania and the Czech Republic were the biggest beneficiaries, receiving €1.1bn and €1bn, respectively. Their recipient projects include improving energy-efficient buildings for the Czech Republic’s public sector, and renewable and gas infrastructure to replace coal-powered energy in Romania. 

And finally: Tesla is in talks with Spanish authorities over a possible €4.5bn investment in the country, reports Reuters citing unnamed sources.