Imec sets up shop in southern Germany

Imec is setting up an automotive research hub in Heilbronn, a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The Advanced Chip Design Accelerator (ACDA) will focus on chiplet, packaging, system integration, sensing and (edge) AI technology. Supplementing Imec’s existing automotive R&D offering, the Leuven-headquartered research institute believes it will be able to better support the local and international automotive industry in derisking and accelerating the introduction of automotive chiplets into manufacturing.

The ACDA is part of a chip design strategy of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg and aligned with the European Commission’s strategy to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty. The competence center is financially supported with 40 million euros from Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism, initially for a period of five years.