In its largest ever partnership with industry, the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has signed an agreement with ASML to fund new PhD students, build a new cleanroom facility, and strengthen The Netherlands' already strong position in semiconductor development.
Over the next 10 years, ASML will fund almost 100 PhD students in areas relevant to the chip sector, such as plasma physics, mechatronics, optics and AI.
In addition, ASML will contribute financially to a new cleanroom that TU/e will build, which will be larger and more modern than TU/e’s existing facility.
ASML will invest a total of €80 million in the collaboration over the next 10 years, while TU/e will invest more than €100 million in the new cleanroom and to fund additional PhDs. The parties will also involve other companies and institutions in the region and beyond in the collaboration, in order to increase its impact.
“The collaboration will increase the availability of PhDs, which our industry has a strong need for, and will provide scientific insights that are relevant to the chip industry and society,” said Roger Dassen, Chief Financial Officer of ASML. “With this agreement we are investing in science in the Netherlands and in training experts.”
The university has been conducting leading international research in the various areas of chip technology for more than fifty years. More than seven hundred TU/e researchers from 25 research groups are currently working on semiconductors, and this number is expected to grow considerably.
The collaboration between ASML and TU/e is in line with the goals of Project Beethoven, financed by national and regional authorities and industry, which aims to further strengthen the Brainport region in the Netherlands in the field of semiconductors.
Robert-Jan Smits, President of the TU/e Executive Board, commented: “We will invest together, expanding Brainport's position as the Netherlands' most important semicon hotspot. This development once again shows the exceptional strength of TU/e in terms of collaboration with industry and our pivotal position in Brainport. For us, the agreement is extra special because it is our largest agreement ever with an industrial partner. And it is an important recognition of the quality of our university.”
Credit for main image: Bart van Overbeeke
