EDIP Opens the Door: EU Funding Now Available for Defence Electronics Including PCBs and Substrates

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

by Alison James, senior director, European government relations; Chris Mitchell, chief advocacy officer, Global Electronics Association

The European Commission has published a call for proposals under the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP), and for European electronics manufacturers the message is clear: this is real money for real capacity, and PCBs and IC substrates are explicitly in scope.

EDIP's Industrial Reinforcement Actions (IRA) dedicate €122.25 million to key electronic components, covering guidance electronics, propulsion electronics, RF and laser modules, multispectral cameras, avionics, PCBs and IC substrates, lithium-ion polymer batteries, power electronics, and critical semiconductor building blocks. EU co-financing covers up to 35% of eligible project costs, rising to 50% where the majority of beneficiaries are SMEs or mid-caps or where the project creates new cross-border cooperation or production capacity. With a maximum EU contribution of €20 million per project, the total investment volume represented by this call alone could be €350 million or more in new defence electronics capacity across Europe. The call closes in February 2027.

The explicit inclusion of PCBs and IC substrates in this call did not happen by accident. It is the product of a sustained, industry-led advocacy campaign to ensure that European policymakers recognize electronics manufacturing as foundational to defence readiness. The Global Electronics Association has been at the center of that effort, building a coalition of peer associations and manufacturers that made the case directly to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and member state governments. The Association's milestone report, Securing the European Union's Electronics Ecosystem, documented the scale of Europe's vulnerability: just 6% of global defence-related PCB production occurs in Europe, and the region's share of advanced packaging is less than 8%. The report and a follow up meeting with ASD, Europe's defence industry association, warned that without urgent action to strengthen the electronics value chain, Europe's ability to produce drones, radar systems, and secure communications would remain critically dependent on non-European sources.

That advocacy produced results. The EDIP regulation now channels dedicated funding to the components that sit at the heart of every defence system. This is a meaningful step, but it is only a beginning. The Association continues to press for even stronger provisions in a Chips Act 2.0 and for sustained investment that matches the scale of the challenge.

European electronics manufacturers should prepare now to submit strong proposals in what is expected to be a very competitive process. A call document is forthcoming which will provide full details and eligibility. The Association will schedule an informational webinar after the call document is released.