EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities of the “Microelectronic – Front-End Module (FEM)” RIA

1. Single Market Access: 450+ Million Users/Customers

• Unified 6G Equipment Market: A pan-EU FEM reference design lowers fragmentation, making it easier to commercialise components for all 27 Member States without repetitious national certifications.

• Early Adopter Verticals: Energy-efficient FR3 FEMs unlock EU-wide Fixed-Wireless-Access roll-outs (rural broadband), smart-factory connectivity and secure sensing markets valued at €30-40 bn by 2030.

• Public-Procurement Leverage: Compliance with EU security rules (Article 22(5) restrictions) positions consortia for forthcoming public 6G procurement waves (e.g. Connecting Europe Facility 2 Digital, EU-funded cross-border corridors).

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Pan-European Industrial Chain: Combine RF CMOS leaders (France, Germany, Belgium), GaN/SiGe champions (Spain, Slovakia, Italy), packaging hubs (Portugal, Netherlands) and pilot lines funded under the Chips Joint Undertaking (JU). This mitigates the EU’s current 80 % import dependency on RF front-ends.

• Mandatory Collaboration Agreement: The call requires joint work with NTN and wireless R&I projects—creating a ready-made EU network for co-design, spectrum-sharing algorithms and satellite coexistence tests.

• Brain Circulation: Mobility budgets in Horizon-JU projects facilitate post-doc and engineer exchanges across EU RTOs (CEA-Leti, IMEC, Fraunhofer, VTT, Tyndall), reinforcing cohesion among cohesion-country institutions.

3. EU Policy Alignment & Strategic Value

• EU Chips Act & Digital Compass 2030: The topic explicitly links to transfer to Chip JU pilot lines, bolstering the EU target of 20 % global semiconductor share by 2030.

• Green Deal / Fit-for-55: 50 % transmission-energy reduction contributes directly to the EU’s 2030 energy-efficiency target; supports taxonomy-aligned “green ICT” investments.

• Secure & Resilient Connectivity Toolbox: Article 22(5) restrictions help the EU build technological sovereignty in strategic RF components—reducing reliance on high-risk suppliers flagged in the 5G Toolbox.

• Digital Europe Programme Synergy: The FEM’s RISC-V/SoC & AI functions complement DEP’s support for European open-source hardware stacks, reinforcing open strategic autonomy.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• Single Radio Equipment Directive (RED) Compliance: Designing with common EU safety & EMC rules in mind avoids 27 divergent conformity assessments.

• Spectrum Policy Certainty: The proposal tackles FR3 sharing with incumbents (satellite, defence); once approved by CEPT & WRC-27, a harmonised EU band plan accelerates deployment and cert testing.

• Common Cyber-Security Certification (EUCC): Integrated secure sensing/ICAS functions can be pre-aligned with the upcoming EUCC scheme—giving early movers a compliance edge.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Interface with 25+ Chip JU Pilot Lines: Direct eligibility for MPWs and prototyping services in agrégate, drastically cutting time-to-silicon.

• Living Labs & Testbeds: 6G-SNS Phase 1 & 2 platforms (8+ pan-EU testbeds) readily available for over-the-air validation at FR3, avoiding national duplication.

• Standardisation Fast-Track: ETSI, 3GPP and ISO/IEC workshops hosted in Europe allow consortium results to feed specs early—translating RIA outputs into global de-facto standards.

6. Funding Synergies & Layered Financing

• Cascade Funding Opportunities: Align with SNS “Stream C” large-scale trials (opens 2026) for system-level demos—leveraging the FEM as a mandatory hardware component.

• Structural Funds & IPCEI-ME/CT: Cohesion-region partners can co-finance pilot packaging lines through ERDF while using Horizon budget for R&D salaries.

• EIB/InvestEU Blending: Energy-efficient FEM IP is bankable under InvestEU’s Strategic Technologies window, unlocking growth-stage loans for scale-up fabs.

7. Scale & Impact Potential Across the Union

• Mass-Market Readiness: By targeting SoC integration and 200 MHz channels, the RIA paves the way for EU-wide 6G smartphones, CPE and industrial sensors by 2028.

• Pan-EU Carbon Savings: If deployed across 50 % of EU mobile sites, the 50 % efficiency gain equates to ~1.8 TWh annual electricity savings—cutting ~500 kt CO₂.

• Robust SME Participation: Tie-break rules reward higher SME share, promoting new entrants in packaging, AI accelerators and RF IP—fertilising the EU SME ecosystem.

8. Strategic Take-aways for Applicants

• Anchor the consortium in at least three EU semiconductor clusters (e.g. Grenoble-Leuven-Dresden) to exploit pilot-line complementarity.

• Map deliverables to Chips JU TRL gates (design → MPW → pilot → volume) to ensure seamless funding continuum.

• Embed standardisation & policy lobbying work-packages to influence WRC-27 FR3 and RED delegated acts—turning technical results into first-mover regulatory advantage.

• Allocate budget for cross-project AI dataset sharing (mandatory open repository), boosting visibility and citation.

Bottom line: Competing at national level would deny access to the EU’s integrated semiconductor value chain, unified spectrum policy and €150 bn multi-program funding pool. Leveraging this Horizon-JU RIA at EU scale converts Europe’s fragmented RF know-how into a sovereign, energy-efficient 6G front-end platform with global export potential.