advanced packaging of chiplets and heterogeneous integration in Europe

The digital action grant opportunity titled "DIGITAL-JU-Chips-2025-CSA-LFA" aims to enhance cooperation for the industrial implementation of advanced packaging of chiplets and heterogeneous integration in Europe. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities such as research institutions, universities, large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), technology start-ups, and public-private partnerships. This grant is structured as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) under the Digital Europe Programme and seeks to strengthen the European advanced packaging ecosystem.

The funding amounts range from €500,000 to €2,000,000, with a specific allocation of €2 million for 2025. There is a single-stage application process, with proposals to be submitted from December 3, 2025, to February 25, 2026. Applications must explore collaboration, knowledge sharing, and coordination efforts primarily across EU countries, including Germany, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Austria.

The project focuses on the semiconductor and microelectronics sector, specifically targeting advanced packaging technologies and chiplet integration, while also connecting to sectors like automotive, aerospace, healthcare, and telecommunications. The initiative aims to achieve several outcomes: developing resilient and diversified supply chains, enhancing sustainable and resource-efficient manufacturing, increasing standardization and interoperability, promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing, and preparing a skilled workforce to support growth.

A minimum co-funding requirement is not mandated, as the program operates on a 50% reimbursement model for eligible costs. Although success rates for the applications are not specified, the initiative's structure encourages collaboration among multiple stakeholders to promote a cohesive European ecosystem. Additionally, no specific co-financing obligations are stipulated, allowing for flexibility in funding arrangements.

Applicants are guided to adhere to certain admissibility conditions documented in the application guidelines, ensuring proposals fit within the parameters set by the Chips Joint Undertaking. The overall aim is to create a competitive and sustainable advanced packaging sector in Europe, fostering innovation and addressing supply chain vulnerabilities through coordinated support actions across the region.

The DIGITAL-JU-Chips-2025-CSA-LFA call, under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), aims to boost cooperation for industrial implementation on advanced packaging of chiplets and heterogeneous integration in Europe. It falls under the DIGITAL-JU-CSA DIGITAL JU Coordination and Support Actions and utilizes a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG] Model Grant Agreement. The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date was December 3, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is February 25, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome of this Coordination and Support Action (CSA) is to deliver a more resilient, sustainable, and competitive European advanced packaging ecosystem through focused collaboration, standardization, and workforce development.

The specific expected outcomes are:

Resilient & Diversified Supply Chains: A more resilient European supply chain for advanced packaging, evidenced by a publicly available vulnerability assessment for key sectors including automotive, aerospace, healthcare, security, and telecommunications. This addresses supply network ecosystems.

Sustainable & Resource-Efficient Manufacturing: A reduced environmental footprint of advanced packaging manufacturing in Europe, demonstrated by measurable improvements in resource consumption (materials, energy) and adoption of sustainable design principles.

Accelerated Standardization & Interoperability: Increased adoption of standardized technologies for advanced packaging, fostering interoperability and reducing time-to-market for European companies.

Enhanced Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing: A strengthened and interconnected European advanced packaging ecosystem, characterized by increased collaboration between research institutions, industry, pilot lines, competence centers, and existing networks such as Pack4EU.

Coordinated R&I & Industrial Implementation: A harmonized roadmap for the industrial implementation of research results in advanced packaging, ensuring coherence between EU R&I activities and industry needs.

Skilled & Competent Workforce: A skilled workforce equipped to support the growth of the European advanced packaging ecosystem, with increased availability of specialized training programs and upskilling opportunities.

The conditions for this call include:

Admissibility Conditions: The proposal page limit and layout are detailed in Part B of the Application Form, accessible from the Call documents section on the Chips JU website. Further details are in Appendix 6.v6 of the Chips JU Workprogramme.

Eligible Countries: Information on eligible countries is available but not specified in the provided text.

Other Eligible Conditions: Details on other eligible conditions are available but not specified in the provided text.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Information on financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria is available but not specified in the provided text.

Evaluation and award: The submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring, thresholds, and indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement are available but not specified in the provided text.

Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Information on the legal and financial set-up of the grants is available but not specified in the provided text.

Applicants should visit the Call page of the Chips JU Website for more information.

The call documents and annexes include:

Call document

Reference documents: Guide for Applicants and Evaluation form.

Call submission documents and annexes: Application form template Part B and Ownership declaration template.

Model Grant Agreements (MGA): DEP MGA.

Additional documents: DEP Regulation 2021/964, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget overview indicates that the DIGITAL-JU-Chips-2025-CSA-LFA topic has a budget of 2,000,000 EUR for the year 2025. It is a single-stage application process with an opening date of December 3, 2025, and a deadline of February 25, 2026. The expected contributions range from 500,000 to 2,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of one grant to be awarded.

LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

To submit a proposal, applicants should access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button, selecting the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement. Existing draft proposals can be accessed by logging into the Funding & Tenders Portal and selecting the My Proposals page.

For help related to this call, applicants can contact calls@chips-ju.europa.eu. Additional support is available through the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk, and the Online Manual.

In summary, this EU funding opportunity aims to bolster the European advanced packaging ecosystem for chiplets and heterogeneous integration. It seeks to achieve this by fostering resilient supply chains, sustainable manufacturing practices, standardization, enhanced collaboration, coordinated research and development, and a skilled workforce. The call encourages collaboration between research institutions, industry partners, and other relevant stakeholders to create a competitive and sustainable European presence in the advanced packaging sector. Applicants need to prepare a comprehensive proposal, adhering to the specified guidelines and deadlines, and utilize the provided resources for submission and support.

Eligible Applicant Types: The document does not explicitly list eligible applicant types. However, based on the description, eligible applicants could include research institutions, industry, pilot lines, competence centers, and existing networks. The mention of LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants suggests that a variety of legal entities with the capacity to manage EU funding could be eligible.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG], as indicated in the call details. The action is a DIGITAL JU Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-JU-CSA).

Consortium Requirement: The document does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, the emphasis on collaboration between various types of organizations (research institutions, industry, pilot lines, competence centers) suggests that a consortium approach would be beneficial, if not required. The partner search announcements also point towards the possibility of forming a consortium.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The call aims to create a more resilient, sustainable, and competitive European advanced packaging ecosystem, suggesting that the geographic eligibility is focused on entities within the EU.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is advanced packaging of chiplets and heterogeneous integration, which falls under the broader category of semiconductors and microelectronics. This also touches on related sectors such as automotive, aerospace, healthcare, security, and telecommunications, as these are identified as key sectors that would benefit from a more resilient supply chain.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on the European advanced packaging ecosystem, implying that the relevant region is the European Union.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on coordination and support actions (CSA), which suggests a focus on activities that support the development and implementation of strategies, standardization, and collaboration. This implies a stage that is beyond basic research but not yet at full commercialization, likely around development, validation, and demonstration.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic DIGITAL-JU-Chips-2025-CSA-LFA is 2,000,000 EUR. The contributions range from 500,000 EUR to 2,000,000 EUR. The indicative number of grants is 1.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by the "Open For Submission" status. It is a single-stage application process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to fund their coordination and support actions.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is 1, but the number of applications is not specified, so the success rate cannot be determined from the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The document does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), specifically targeting the advanced packaging of chiplets and heterogeneous integration in Europe. The call, titled "Boosting cooperation for industrial implementation on advanced packaging of chiplets and heterogeneous integration in Europe (DIGITAL-JU-CHIPS-2025-CSA-LFA)," aims to fund a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) to deliver a more resilient, sustainable, and competitive European advanced packaging ecosystem. The expected outcomes include resilient and diversified supply chains, sustainable and resource-efficient manufacturing, accelerated standardization and interoperability, enhanced collaboration and knowledge sharing, coordinated R&I and industrial implementation, and a skilled and competent workforce.

The call is managed by the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) and offers a single grant of 2,000,000 EUR. The submission process is single-stage, with the opening date for submissions being December 3, 2025, and the deadline for submissions being February 25, 2026. Eligible applicants are expected to form consortia that include research institutions, industry partners, pilot lines, and competence centers. The application requires adherence to specific admissibility conditions, including proposal page limits and layout guidelines detailed in Part B of the Application Form. Applicants must also meet the financial and operational capacity requirements.

The call emphasizes the importance of strengthening the European supply chain for advanced packaging, reducing the environmental footprint of manufacturing, increasing the adoption of standardized technologies, and fostering collaboration between various stakeholders. The ultimate goal is to create a harmonized roadmap for the industrial implementation of research results and to develop a skilled workforce to support the growth of the European advanced packaging ecosystem. The application process is managed through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, where applicants can access all necessary documents, submit their proposals electronically, and find support resources.