Europe has taken a significant step towards semiconductor self-sufficiency after Dutch chip designer Qualinx and GlobalFoundries announced what they describe as the first fully European end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow for security-critical applications.
The milestone centres on Qualinx’s QLX3xx global navigation satellite system (GNSS) system-on-chip, a low-power processor designed for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) applications used across connected infrastructure, industrial systems, aerospace and defence.
The companies said the chip completed every stage of production within the European Union, from design intake and mask services through to wafer manufacturing at GlobalFoundries’ fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany. According to the partners, no sensitive design data or physical materials left Europe during the process.
The announcement comes as European policymakers seek to strengthen regional semiconductor capabilities through the European Chips Act, amid growing concerns over supply chain resilience and dependence on manufacturing capacity concentrated in Asia and the United States.
While much of the debate around chip sovereignty has focused on advanced processors for artificial intelligence, the Qualinx project highlights a parallel challenge facing Europe: securing access to specialised semiconductors that underpin connected devices, industrial infrastructure and critical communications networks.
The QLX3xx chip targets GNSS-based positioning and timing applications, including resilient timing networks, synchronisation infrastructure and ultra-low-power location services for Edge-connected devices. Such capabilities are increasingly viewed as strategic assets as governments and operators seek greater control over the technologies supporting transport, telecommunications, utilities and defence systems.
Tom Trill, Chief Executive Officer of Qualinx, said the project demonstrated that a secure European manufacturing route was already achievable for complex semiconductor products.
“Together with GlobalFoundries, we’ve optimised our Digital RF technology on GF’s FDX platform with a secure end-to-end flow, culminating in the launch of our ultra-low-power reconfigurable GNSS SoC and Analog Front End,” he said.
For the Internet of Things sector, the development could prove particularly significant. Many IoT deployments depend on trusted positioning and timing capabilities, especially in industrial monitoring, asset tracking, smart infrastructure and critical communications environments where reliability and data sovereignty requirements are becoming more stringent.
GlobalFoundries said the Qualinx programme represents the first operational milestone in a broader sovereign manufacturing initiative being developed at its Dresden facility. The company aims to establish a fully automated trusted manufacturing flow by the end of 2026 and plans to make the capability available to additional customers from 2027.
As part of the initiative, GlobalFoundries is also working with Deutsche Telekom to evaluate how semiconductor production data can be processed, transported and stored exclusively within European networks, cloud infrastructure and data centres.
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