Catalonia launches InnoFAB €400M advanced semiconductor fab, assumes ESRA presidency
Catalonia formalized the creation of InnoFAB, a €400 million advanced semiconductor prototyping center, backed by NextGenerationEU funds. Located in Parc de l'Alba alongside the Alba Synchrotron, InnoFAB will feature a 2,000-square-meter clean room for manufacturing advanced semiconductor prototypes and small-series production. The facility will span nearly 22,000 square meters across four buildings and is expected to create 200 direct jobs while positioning Catalonia as a reference hub for micro and nanotechnologies.
InnoFAB is designed to bridge the Lab-to-Fab gap, transforming laboratory innovations into industrial products for strategic sectors including electronics, health, and energy. The project is integrated into the Catalonia Lidera plan, reinforcing the region's positioning as a European benchmark in technological and industrial innovation with special focus on semiconductors. The initiative aligns with European Chips Act goals to enhance technological sovereignty and production capacity.
Catalonia simultaneously assumed the 2026 presidency of the European Semiconductor Regions Alliance (ESRA), elected by majority vote over other candidates. The region hosts 260 semiconductor companies and research entities employing 4,600 professionals, with a portfolio of 22 pending foreign multinational investment projects potentially representing €1.6 billion in capital and 1,800 new jobs within two to three years. During its ESRA presidency, Catalonia will drive the regulatory framework for achieving 20% of global chip production in Europe by 2030, aligning with Chips Act 2.0. Stack architects and supply-chain planners tracking European fab capacity and prototyping infrastructure should monitor InnoFAB's 2026 construction timeline and ESRA's Chips Act implementation work.
Sources
- Primary source
- ara.cat
“Innofab will be Catalonia's leading chip center and will be located in the Parc de l'Alba, in close collaboration with the synchrotron, in the municipality of Cerdanyola del Vallès. It will represent an investment of €400 million”
- catalonia.com
“Catalonia assumed the presidency of the European Semiconductor Regions Alliance (ESRA), a position it will hold throughout 2026”
- catalonia.com
“Catalonia Trade & Investment is working with a portfolio of 22 potential foreign investment projects from multinational companies in this sector. If they all materialized, they would represent an investment of more than 1,600 million euros and the creation of 1,800 new jobs in the next two to three years”