Development Minister Kostas Skrekas announced, during the 3rd Forum of the Hellenic Emerging Technologies Industry Association (HETiA), the development of financial tools as well as the necessary legal framework to further support the microchip industry in Greece.
The president of HETiA, Emmanuel Zervakis, stated that the goal of the Association is to further strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in the coming years and to connect its members with the state and society. At the present stage, the Association counts over 80 members, from companies that produce technology and high expertise, including a staff of over 3,000 engineers and a turnover of over 350 million euros.
Digital transformation has accelerated, with the number of interconnected devices reaching 125 billion euros by the end of the decade, while the amount of data will reach 1 Zettabyte, worldwide. However, he added, digital transformation without microcircuits and chips cannot be accomplished.
“According to Mckinsey research, by the end of the decade, the microchip market will reach 1 trillion dollars. The European Chips Act action is expected to leverage investments of over 40 billion euros and Greece has a unique opportunity to take advantage of the financing from this specific program,” Zervakis pointed out, stressing that “the role of the state is to become the catalyst of developments, to give incentives and proceed to further investments.”
The main challenge, as he said, is to ensure sustainable development in a period of multiple crises while the state’s priority is to expand the country’s production base and take advantage of the European strategy for autonomy in sectors such as mining and photovoltaics. As he pointed out, the microchip industry is also a priority, as now Europe is completely dependent on Asia.
“Greece can play a significant role in the development of this industry, we must not miss this opportunity, especially in chip designing, there are over 20 companies that produce innovation and technology,” he concluded.
