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SEMI, the industry association advancing the global semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, announced it has joined the ReSiLient project consortium to help fortify Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem and advance global supply chain resilience. Kicking off in 2026, the project aims to tackle Europe’s critical dependence on imported silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) raw materials.
As part of SEMI’s participation, SEMI Europe will serve as lead partner for Work Package 8 (WP8), Social Acceptance, Dissemination, Communication and Standardization. Co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe program (Grant Agreement No. 101294649), the ReSiLient project — Innovative Primary Substitution and Secondary Valorisation Routes for Europe’s Silicon and Silicon Carbide Semiconductor Raw Material Value Chains — is a 48-month, €9.57 million Innovation Action bringing together 18 partners from across 9 European countries.
“Securing Europe’s access to silicon and silicon carbide is no longer simply a materials challenge—it is a strategic industrial imperative,” said Laith Altimime, President, SEMI Europe. “ReSiLient tackles the critical raw-material bottlenecks at the very foundation of Europe’s semiconductor and power-device industries. SEMI Europe is committed to ensuring these results reach the industrial stakeholders who can turn them into action. By strengthening the resilience of Europe’s raw-material supply, ReSiLient will help reinforce the Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, competitiveness, and global leadership.”
The project addresses four strategic objectives:
- Supply chain resilience — Map critical dependencies across the Si and SiC value chains, validate domestic and secondary feedstocks including olivine, aplite and Si-rich industrial waste streams, and align new production routes with the Critical Raw Materials Act, European Chips Act, Net-Zero Industry Act and EU Emissions Trading System.
- Sustainable production at scale — Develop and demonstrate two integrated production routes: a primary route based on domestic mineral sources, and a secondary route based on industrial by-products and waste streams, using hydrometallurgical leaching, agglomeration, hydrogen plasma refining and carbothermic conversion to deliver metallurgical-grade silicon and high-purity silicon carbide at pilot scale.
- Semiconductor qualification — Validate the purity and performance of project-produced Si, MG-Si and SiC for real semiconductor manufacturing, including Czochralski crystal growth and SiC boule production, benchmarked against commercial feedstock by end users STMicroelectronics Silicon Carbide AB and Infineon Technologies.
- Competitiveness and exploitation — Benchmark both production chains against conventional baselines on cost, carbon footprint and supply security, and define clear commercial pathways, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) frameworks and regulatory compliance strategies for scale-up.
The ReSiLient consortium spans the full microelectronics value chain:
Sintef, Luxchemtech Gmbh, Fiven Norge, Bifa Umweltinstitut Gmbh, Ethnicon, Metsovion Polytechnion, Steinsvik Olivine As, Konlechner David, Wacker Chemie Ag, Semi Europe Gmbh, L'urederra, Fundacion Para El Desarrollo Tecnoles, Stmicroelectronics Silicon Carbide Ab, Infineon Technologies Ag, Chemconserve Bv, Topsil Globalwafers As, Memc Electronic Materials Spa, Scr-Sibelco Nv, Infineon Technologies Dresden Ag & Co. Kg De, Uvr-Fia Verfahrensentwicklung Umweltschutzec De.
As lead of WP8, SEMI Europe will drive stakeholder engagement across at least 10 European member states, coordinate communication activities anchored around key industry events including SEMICON Europa, develop standards and chair the project's external Technical Advisory Group.
