Wafers for microchips: University of Copenhagen to open advanced facility

When it comes to microchip production, Taiwan, South Korea and the US have for years topped the list of countries most often cited by experts and policymakers. Decades of billion-dollar investments and high-tech facilities have made them central to an industry the rest of the world is deeply dependent on.

But Denmark may soon be part of that conversation.

It underscores our commitment to Europe in a time of global upheaval

David Dreyer Lassen, Rector at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

At a signing ceremony on 21 August, a partnership between the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and the French company RIBER was officially launched. The collaboration aims to establish Denmark’s first facility capable of producing wafers of the highest international standard.

Wafers are ultra-pure crystalline discs that underpin modern microchips.

In addition to representatives from UCPH and RIBER, Denmark’s Minister for Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund (Moderates Party) and Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs Morten Bødskov (Social Democrats) also attended the ceremony.

European counteroffensive

The facility — called the POEM Technology Center — will be located in the Niels Bohr Building, where researchers, engineers and technicians will work side by side with specialists from RIBER, the French company providing the equipment.

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The project is part of a broader European collaboration aimed at reducing its dependence on supplies from Asia and the US.

At the same time, it will be a research tool that provides Danish quantum scientists with access to technologies that they have so far had to source from abroad.

Rector David Dreyer Lassen calls the launch a major step for the university:

»The distance between research and production is often vast — both mentally and physically. Now we’re bringing the industrial machinery into the lab, and our researchers can feed new knowledge directly into the machines. If something works, we can scale it fairly quickly — and that puts us in the game,« he told the University Post.

Chip production is not just a technological matter — it has political implications too. In recent years, both the US and China have invested heavily in securing control of their supply chains, and the EU is trying to catch up with its own initiatives.

»It underscores our commitment to Europe in a time of global upheaval. Europe actually has a pretty strong position when it comes to equipment, so it makes perfect sense to join forces. We also have collaborations on the way with Norway and other countries, where we’ll be looking into projects similar to this one,« says David Dreyer Lassen.

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UCPH reaching out to industry

For the University of Copenhagen, the POEM facility also signals a new way of thinking about its role. The university is still committed to basic research, but increasingly sees the value of working with industry to put that knowledge into practice.

»If we can contribute, we should contribute. Some people call industrial collaboration a particular kind of research communication — and they’re not far off. It’s a natural extension of what we already do,« says David Dreyer Lassen.

The expectation is that the new facility will be fully operational within a year.

This article was first written in Danish and published on 22 August 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.