ASML and Eindhoven University of Technology will give collaboration a major boost over the next 10 years

Today ASML and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have signed an agreement on a significant expansion of their collaboration. They will conduct more joint research and train more PhD students in areas such as plasma physics, mechatronics, optics and AI, based on common roadmaps. The expansion is an investment in the unique position of the Brainport region in the field of semiconductors and a strong boost for the Future Chips flagship of TU/e.

In close collaboration between the two parties, almost a hundred PhD students will conduct research in areas relevant to the chip sector over the next ten years. This is a win-win: on the one hand, it provides groundbreaking new knowledge and technology that contributes to solutions for society and Dutch earning capacity, and, on the other hand, PhD students are trained to become the top specialists that the semiconductor industry desperately needs. The agreement, now concluded, is the elaboration of the memorandum of understanding that ASML and TU/e signed last year.

In addition, ASML will contribute financially to the new cleanroom building that TU/e will build. This lab building will be a top facility focused on research, education and startups in the field of semiconductors and will be larger and more modern than the existing TU/e cleanroom, which it will replace.

ASML is investing a total of 80 million euros in the collaboration over the next ten years. TU/e is also investing heavily in semicon: an expected total of more than a hundred million for the cleanroom building and the many PhD students who will be appointed. The parties will also involve other companies and institutions in the region and beyond in the collaboration, in order to increase its impact.  

Roger Dassen, Chief Financial Officer of ASML. “With this agreement we are expanding our long-term collaboration with TU/e. TU/e is the purveyor of talent in the region and an important academic partner. The collaboration will increase the availability of PhDs, which our industry has a strong need for, and will provide scientific insights that are relevant to the chip industry and society. With this agreement we are investing in science in the Netherlands and in training experts.”

Robert-Jan Smits, President of the TU/e Executive Board: “We are proud that we are giving an enormous boost to the strong collaboration that we have had for decades. We will invest together, expanding Brainport's position as the Netherlands' most important semicon hotspot. This development once again shows the exceptional strength of TU/e in terms of collaboration with industry and our pivotal position in Brainport. For us, the agreement is extra special because it is our largest agreement ever with an industrial partner. And it is an important recognition of the quality of our university.”

The collaboration between ASML and TU/e is in line with the goals of Project Beethoven. This project, which is financed by national and regional authorities and industry, is aimed at further strengthening the Brainport region and the Netherlands in the field of semiconductors, with a view to creating solutions for society and our future earning capacity. In terms of 'talent', Beethoven's focus includes strengthening relevant education and scientific research. 

With its recently launched Future Chips flagship, TU/e is placing extra emphasis on semiconductors. The university has been conducting leading international research in the various areas of chip technology for more than fifty years. More than seven hundred TU/e researchers from 25 research groups are currently working on semiconductors, and this number is expected to grow considerably.