News Article
EU allows French fiscal boost for ST
Commission authorises aid of €457 million to France for Nano2012 R&D programme
The European Commission has decided not to raise any objections under the EC Treaty state aid rules to the financial support of €457 million granted by France to the Nano2012 research and development (R&D) programme. The STMicroelectronics Group will coordinate the programme, which will involve CEA-LETI and other industrial players and research bodies.
Nano2012 is aimed at developing new technologies to design and produce the next generation of integrated circuits. Following an in-depth examination of the aid granted to STMicroelectronics for Nano2012, the Commission concluded that the aid was compatible with the Community guidelines on state aid for research, development and innovation. The programme will generate positive externalities in terms of dissemination of knowledge. It is thus designed to compensate for market failure and will have only a limited impact on competition.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “The Nano2012 programme to develop new technologies for the manufacture of semiconductors in Europe is in line with the EU’s major research objectives. Its positive effects will far outweigh any distortion of competition that may result from the aid.”
The five-year Nano2012 programme will cost over €2 billion, of which €1.1 billion may be taken into account for the purpose of calculating state support. The aid of €457 million will go primarily to STMicroelectronics (€340 million), which is the project leader, but also to the Laboratoire d'Électronique et de Technologies de l'Information du Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA-LETI) and to several other research bodies and industrial players.
Under Nano2012, STMicroelectronics will launch the development of new technologies to design and produce the next generation of integrated circuits. The innovations developed will build expertise in the technology and in the design flow of the most advanced core and derived nanometric technologies. The programme is consistent with the industry roadmap (the ITRS, which provides a reference agenda for the industry on the introduction of production technologies) and will even go beyond it in certain areas. Nano2012 will make use of the potential of the Crolles-Grenoble R&D ecosystem and help establish a cluster of derived technologies in Crolles.
On 1 September 2008 France notified the aid of €340 million for STMicroelectronics under Nano2012; the other partners were not examined individually. The aid comes under the “Fonds de Compétitivité des Entreprises” scheme already authorised by the Commission on 17 September 2007. Under this scheme, aid over and above a certain amount must be notified individually to the Commission.
Following a detailed examination, the Commission concluded that the measure meets the compatibility conditions set out in the Community framework for state aid for research and development and innovation In particular, it found that the Nano2012 programme would have positive effects for the whole of the European Union.
The programme, which involves a large consortium of businesses and research bodies, will play an important role in the dissemination of knowledge. Furthermore, it was judged that mere market forces would never have spontaneously led to the setting up of such a programme, given the size of the technological and commercial risks involved and the critical mass required to carry out such an ambitious R&D project. Finally, the distortion of competition caused by the aid will be limited, given the small amount of aid compared with overall R&D expenditure in the sector and given the presence of strong players able to compete on a market that has significant potential for growth.
Nano2012 is aimed at developing new technologies to design and produce the next generation of integrated circuits. Following an in-depth examination of the aid granted to STMicroelectronics for Nano2012, the Commission concluded that the aid was compatible with the Community guidelines on state aid for research, development and innovation. The programme will generate positive externalities in terms of dissemination of knowledge. It is thus designed to compensate for market failure and will have only a limited impact on competition.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “The Nano2012 programme to develop new technologies for the manufacture of semiconductors in Europe is in line with the EU’s major research objectives. Its positive effects will far outweigh any distortion of competition that may result from the aid.”
The five-year Nano2012 programme will cost over €2 billion, of which €1.1 billion may be taken into account for the purpose of calculating state support. The aid of €457 million will go primarily to STMicroelectronics (€340 million), which is the project leader, but also to the Laboratoire d'Électronique et de Technologies de l'Information du Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA-LETI) and to several other research bodies and industrial players.
Under Nano2012, STMicroelectronics will launch the development of new technologies to design and produce the next generation of integrated circuits. The innovations developed will build expertise in the technology and in the design flow of the most advanced core and derived nanometric technologies. The programme is consistent with the industry roadmap (the ITRS, which provides a reference agenda for the industry on the introduction of production technologies) and will even go beyond it in certain areas. Nano2012 will make use of the potential of the Crolles-Grenoble R&D ecosystem and help establish a cluster of derived technologies in Crolles.
On 1 September 2008 France notified the aid of €340 million for STMicroelectronics under Nano2012; the other partners were not examined individually. The aid comes under the “Fonds de Compétitivité des Entreprises” scheme already authorised by the Commission on 17 September 2007. Under this scheme, aid over and above a certain amount must be notified individually to the Commission.
Following a detailed examination, the Commission concluded that the measure meets the compatibility conditions set out in the Community framework for state aid for research and development and innovation In particular, it found that the Nano2012 programme would have positive effects for the whole of the European Union.
The programme, which involves a large consortium of businesses and research bodies, will play an important role in the dissemination of knowledge. Furthermore, it was judged that mere market forces would never have spontaneously led to the setting up of such a programme, given the size of the technological and commercial risks involved and the critical mass required to carry out such an ambitious R&D project. Finally, the distortion of competition caused by the aid will be limited, given the small amount of aid compared with overall R&D expenditure in the sector and given the presence of strong players able to compete on a market that has significant potential for growth.
