IPC Welcomes EU R&I Focus on Advanced Materials for the Future of Electronics
Key Summary
• The European Commission released a new strategy on advanced materials, naming electronics as a priority sector
• The plan aims to boost EU competitiveness by strengthening R&I, testing, deployment, and reducing dependency on critical materials
• IPC contributed expertise emphasizing a “silicon-to-systems” approach to ensure electronics needs are addressed
• Advanced materials will be essential for semiconductors, packaging, substrates, renewable energy, aerospace, medical devices, and defense
• IPC encourages industry input to guide EU research priorities for advanced materials critical to electronics manufacturing
The European Commission published on 27 February its Communication on advanced materials. The Communication sets out the proposed approach to develop industrial leadership from Research and Innovation (R&I) through deployment. Electronics is one of the preliminary priority sectors in terms of potential use.
The intent of the strategy is to enhance the EU's long-term competitiveness by ensuring the EU remains at the forefront of new material technologies, supporting development, testing and deployment capacities. The actions are also intended to strengthen the EU’s open strategic autonomy by reducing dependencies on critical materials. IPC recently provided key insights to the European Commission in expert consultations preceding the Communication. Our contributions stressed the essential "silicon-to-systems" framework, to ensure the electronics sector's needs are fully addressed. See Jan 25 blog.
Advanced materials are intentionally designed and engineered materials to display superior performance or special functions. The demand for advanced materials is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, for instance for the production of renewable energy, batteries, zero-emission buildings, semiconductors, medicines and medical devices, satellites, space launchers, planes or for other dual-use applications as well as defence equipment.
IPC welcomes the reflection on the needs of performance in harsh environments, heightened reflection on new requirements for packaging technologies and substrates and the intent to up-date regularly the priority areas to take into account socio-economic, scientific or technological developments. IPC and our members look forward to continuing dialogue on industrial needs.
IPC invites you to let us know what your company needs to ensure availability of advanced materials in electronics manufacturing processes and products. We welcome additional input from our European members to ensure a research and innovation focus on advanced materials needed for industrial production in Europe.
For further information, contact IPC’s technical expert PeterTranitz@ipc.org or for policy, contact me at AlisonJames@ipc.org.
The strategy aims to strengthen EU competitiveness by accelerating development, testing, and deployment of advanced materials. Its goal is to support innovation, reduce dependency on critical resources, and ensure Europe remains a leader in key technologies, including electronics.
Electronics rely heavily on advanced materials for performance, reliability, and energy efficiency. The strategy recognizes electronics as a priority sector, supporting improvements in packaging, substrates, and materials suited for harsh environments.
IPC provided expert input to ensure the strategy reflects real industry needs. IPC emphasized a silicon-to-systems approach, highlighting the importance of advanced packaging, substrates, and interconnect technologies.
Materials engineered for higher reliability, better thermal performance, and improved efficiency will have the biggest impact. This includes substrates for advanced packaging, materials for extreme environments, and technologies supporting AI, renewable energy, and next-generation devices.