“Microelectronics and connectivity: Europe going forward”: 3rd COREnect workshop

On the 1st of February, the workshop “Microelectronics and connectivity: Europe going forward” took place. It was organised by COREnec, with the NetworldEurope SME WG and the European DIGITAL SME Alliance. The main purpose of this workshop is to enhance the visibility of the European digital industry and to discuss about European connectivity and microelectronics matters.

European Core Technologies for future connectivity systems and components (COREnect) is a coordination and support action (CSA) project that brings major European stakeholders from both the telecommunication and microelectronics industries together, along with connectivity-enabled vertical industries. It is part of the 5G Public-Private Partnership. 

How was the event? 

The workshop was held in the online mode and was structured in 2 parts:

The first one took place in the morning and Yaning Zou, (TUD, COREnect Project Manager and Moderator of the workshop) did welcome the participants. After this intervention, several presentations and top notch speakers discussed about different topics:

• The Importance of Microelectronics and Connectivity for Europe – Marco Ceccarelli, EC/DG CNECT.(Presentation)

• IPCEI 2 Goals and Status – Nicolas Gouze, VDI-VDE/IT, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, supported by its funding agency VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH. (Presentation)

• Connectivity-related Topics in the ECS SRIA – Patrick Cogez, AENEAS. (Presentation)

• Microelectronics-related Topics in the SNS SRIA – Alex Kaloxylos, 6G IA.(Presentation)

• Hexa-X 6G Vision/Use Cases/ KPIs/KVIs – Mikko Uusitalo, Nokia.(Presentation)

• General Introduction to the COREnect Roadmap – Björn Debaillie, imec. During his presentation, Björn also shared a Public consultation that is open until the 28th of February. This public consultation aims to collect feedback on the intermediate roadmap. (See also D3.4 Intermediate COREnect industry roadmap). (Presentation)

• Results from COREnect Expert Group 1 “Compute & Store” – Gerhard Fettweis, TUD, EG1 Chair. (Presentation)

• Results from COREnect Expert Group 2 “Connect & Communicate” – Piet Wambacq, imec, EG2 Chair. (Presentation)

• Results from COREnect Expert Group 3 “Sense & Power” – Manuela Neyer, Infineon, EG3 Chair. (Presentation)

During the second part of the workshop the presentations were focused on the opportunity for SMEs around microelectronics and connectivity, and we also enjoyed a panel discussion. The agenda was as follows:

• 5G and beyond: sparking a Cambrian explosion in the IT ecosystem – Werner Haas, Cyberus. (Presentation)

• Showcasing the power of 5G devices for professional content production: the 5G-RECORDS approach – Manuel Fuentes, Fivecomm. (Presentation)

• Acceleration for 5G infrastructure and edge computing – Benoit De Dinechin, Kalray. (Presentation).

• Electronic and photonic novel key-enablers in the 5G-PHOS network architecture - Paul van Dijk, LioniX International). (Presentation)

• Keynote: Extending Digital Sovereignty to 6G: a Hardware Perspective – Sebastiano Bertani, Tanaza, European DIGITAL SME Alliance. (Presentation).

• COREnect Strategy/Vision: White Paper and Initial Analysis on Investment Requirements – Fredrik Tillman, Ericsson, and Patrick Pype, NXP.(Presentation)

• SMEs in the Microelectronics and Connectivity Ecosystem – Initial Recommendations – Jacques Magen, AUSTRALO, NetworldEurope SME WG Chair. (Presentation).

• Panel: “Connectivity and Microelectronics, the twin foundations of European digital sovereignty and economy”. Seven members of the panel took the floor during the proceedings that were conducted in a highly constructive climate, lead by Gerhard Fettweis (TUD, COREnect Project Coordinator). The participants were: Mohand Achouche (Nokia), Frederic Gianesello (STMicroelectronics), Frank Hofmann (Bosch), Werner Haas (Cyberus), Benoit De Dinechin (Kalray), Kari Leino (Business Finland), Bernard Barani (EC/DG CNECT).

The long-term success of European digital industry will depend on how Europe can secure its presence in the overall 5G value chain.

COREnect is developing a cross-industry technology roadmap of core component and subsystem technologies for the evolution of 5G towards 6G. The strategic goal of the project is to help diversify and reduce European dependence on other continents when building up future connectivity systems.

Help us build the CORRect roadmap by answering the following public consultation questions by the 28th of February.

Please find the recordings of the workshop at those links: Part 1 & Part 2