One of the ten largest companies for the production of chips in the world plans to start cooperation with Bulgarian scientific institutions for development activity and training of highly qualified personnel. The executive director of Infineon Technologies Austria Sabine Herlichka presented the project during a meeting with the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stoyanov. The international company is visiting Bulgaria with the aim of wider cooperation with the Bulgarian academic community and business in the field of microelectronics, and development of human resources in this field.
The company emphasized that their main goal is the development of the microelectronic system and human resources at the level of the European Union through development activities and training, and universities and businesses will play an active role for this purpose.
“European policy is aimed at strengthening the independence of the economy in terms of chip production, and in order to achieve it we must mobilize the potential of all EU member states”, explained Sabine Herlicka. She emphasized that 60,000 people are employed in the field of microelectronics in Bulgaria, which is an impressive number and a sign of the expert potential available to the country. She made an analogy that in Austria, in the whole field of electronics, 70,000 people work.
Such companies play a key role in the European Union’s strategy to accelerate the development of microelectronics, formulated in the so-called Chips Act adopted by the European Union. A total of 43 billion euros should be invested within the EU by 2030, thus strengthening Europe’s autonomy and independence in this area.
Infineon Technologies Austria is one of the ten largest chip companies in the world. Its turnover is close to 5.2 billion euros and it is in one of the first places in the world in terms of investment in scientific research. In 2021 alone, the company invested 516 million euros in research and development. It has 56 research and 20 production centers on three continents. The company employs 50,280 people of 117 nationalities, and its products are used throughout the power chain and in all areas of engineering.
The ambassador of the Republic of Austria H.E. took part in the meeting. Andrea Ikic-Böhm, the trade counselor at the Embassy of Austria Philip Kupfer and the trade representative of Bulgaria at the Office for Trade and Economic Affairs in Vienna Emilian Abadjiev.
“Europe has the potential to become one of the leaders in high-tech sectors, such as microelectronics, and our country can play an important role in this process,” commented the Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Nikola Stoyanov. According to him, this will improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the continent and is a particularly important step for the Union’s digital and green transition.
“Many international companies are increasing their interest in Bulgaria because of the Bulgarian talents and the expert potential that we have, especially in the IT sector,” said the economy minister. He added that IT specialists in our country are increasing every year, and our country is a leader in Europe in terms of the share of women in this sector.
