A new chip factory is to be built in Oudenaarde on the former site of BelGaN, the chip manufacturer that went bankrupt last year. Thema Foundries is investing €200 million in what is set to become Europe’s first fully fledged production and service centre for integrated photonics. The move will create around 500 jobs.
Some 440 people lost their jobs and the machines were liquidated when BelgGaN, Belgium’s last chip manufacturer, declared bankruptcy.
However, the enormous cleanrooms at the site in East Flanders – covering more than 10,000m² – were bought by an unknown party. That party has now been confirmed as Thema Foundries BV, via its subsidiary Bellaser BV.
Full-scale service centre
Thema wants to convert the factory into Europe’s first “full-scale production and service centre for integrated photonics”, via an investment of more than €200 million.
The bankruptcy of BelGaN left a void in the Belgian chip industry. The company was a pioneer in chips based on gallium nitride (GaN). However, the Chinese shareholders pulled the plug on the project because the investments in the sector were not paying off quickly enough.
Experts described the closure as a tragedy for a sector undergoing global transformation. With the EU Chips Act, Europe is aiming to play a greater role in the semiconductor industry and become less dependent on Asian and American players.
International reputation
Belgium, which has an international reputation thanks to the imec research centre in Leuven and the photonics research group at Ghent University, suddenly found itself without a production unit.
While BelGaN focused on GaN chips, the new company is focusing on integrated photonics. This involves using light particles – photons – instead of electrons to transport and process information, resulting in much faster and more energy-efficient chips.
These properties are particularly relevant for data centres and applications in AI, two sectors that are facing an explosion in energy consumption. According to Thema Foundries, integrated photonics can play a key role.
The site in Oudenaarde is being transformed into a state-of-the-art semiconductor factory and service centre, where not only production but also cutting, packaging and testing of photonic microchips will take place.
Research and development activities will also be expanded, and 500 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the investment.