After years of mutual commitment, ESIA is now glad to

showcase imec’s future projects and its vision on the

latest semiconductor industry’s trends. Below, the full

interview with Luc Van den hove (LVdh), President and

CEO of imec.

ESIA: What’s it like to be the CEO of imec and how your

background led you to this position?

LVdh: At the time imec was founded, I was just finishing

my PhD. Along came this idea to start a super lab in

semiconductor technology, so I jumped on the

bandwagon. I learned all aspects of R&D, but also of the

business. I got into close contact with the engineers and

decision makers at the world’s major electronics

companies. And eventually, after two decades of learning

and growing under my formidable predecessors, I was

offered this rewarding position.

When I took up this position as CEO in 2009, it was a

great honor but also a challenging opportunity. The world

was just witnessing economic turmoil, and also the

technical challenges for further scaling were growing. But

with the excellent teams and partners that we have,

we’ve managed to thrive even in this environment. And I

must say, with the positive feedback we get from our

partners, and with the leading role we play, being CEO of

imec is a stimulating and rewarding job. I truly feel

humbled by having the chance to lead such fantastic and

successful organization.

ESIA: What do you wish people should know more about

imec?

LVdh: A lot of people associate imec with a technology

house, mainly active in developing next-generation chip

technology. That is indeed a core activity of imec, but we

do more.

We are, e.g., also a platform where suppliers of tools and

materials get the chance to innovate in close

collaboration with world leaders. For the many European

suppliers of the ICT industry, having a supplier hub close

to home is of vital importance. And through the years,

we’ve also created great value for the fabless

community. Through us, they get insight into the

opportunities and characteristics of emerging technology,

long before it is actually offered at the fabs. That gains

them years of advance knowledge and design time.

In addition, we are also developing technology for smart

applications in the emerging Internet-of-Things,

healthcare, and sustainable energy generation. In these

areas, we want to leverage silicon nanotechnology to

make applications that are much faster, smaller, cheaper

and more efficient. Solutions that can be mass-produced

and that will allow people to lead better, healthier lives in

a sustainable environment.

(continued next page)

Luc Van den hove, President & CEO imec

Interview with Luc Van den hove

President and CEO of imec

ESIA: As a participant of the European Leaders Group

(ELG), how do you think the group’s ambitions and goals

will be met under the new Commission?

LVdh: Under impulse of former European Commission Vice

-President Neelie Kroes, the ELG started in 2013 and

prepared a plan to double the economic value of

semiconductor component production in Europe within

the next 10 years. This is not unrealistic, as the European

industry has excellent assets: world-class research

organizations, powerful regional eco-systems and leading

companies both in component design and production and

in designing and building complex systems.

But the industry will need to act and in this respect the

IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest)

that the multinational actors are preparing is a crucial

move. The proposal is not complete yet, but it seems that

the Internet-of-Things (IoT) will be selected as the

overarching theme, based on the recommendation of the

ELG. I strongly support this choice as it will offer a real

opportunity for Europe. IoT offers a differentiated market

and many of the technology users higher up in the value

chain are strongly present in Europe (e.g. in healthcare,

automotive, industrial applications, etc.).

ESIA: Is there any ongoing project of relevance for the

European semiconductor industry that you would like to

talk about it?

LVdh: The opportunities that are being pursued by smaller

European ICT companies today will have a big impact on

the ICT environment the coming years. There is a high

degree of fragmentation and differentiation in the new

growth markets such as security, medical and wearables,

imaging and sensors, and the Internet of Things. This is an

ideal environment for SMEs with high levels of technical

skill. Progress, change and innovation under these

conditions do not follow schedules or five-year plans. It

occurs through the rapid, dynamic, collective interaction

of SMEs, often across borders and time zones.

We have coined this collective interaction of SMEs in new

fragmented, differentiated growth markets as ‘substream

innovation’. At imec IC-link, the division of imec

responsible for providing SMEs with the technical support

and access to foundry technologies needed to make low

production volume ASICs, we have experienced growth

rates in excess of 30% over the last couple of years. So

here is a definite game changer, still largely ‘substream’,

and we are looking forward with great pleasure to help

grow these new innovating SMEs into great enterprises.

ESIA: How do you think ESIA and imec could further

strengthen their cooperation?

LVdh: The companies that ESIA represents are part of

imec’s natural habitat: the semiconductor industry in

Europe. And that industry thrives on a number of key

enabling technologies that address major societal

challenges and contribute to Europe’s economic growth.

Imec’s mission is to support the industry in developing

those enabling technologies, to leverage our scientific

knowledge with the innovative power of our partners in

ICT, in healthcare and in energy, to deliver industry-

relevant technology solutions.

I’m convinced that imec has the expertise to strengthen

ESIA’s policy advice. We already contribute actively to the

various policy committees and task forces set up by ESIA.

I see an opportunity for imec to strengthen some of these

activities even further by pointing out and documenting

issues that are of collective interest for the semiconductor

industry in Europe, and by helping to draw up clear policy

statements.

As a specific action point, the ELG recommends that IoT

would be supported as one of the key drivers for European

growth, as it presents a differentiated market and many

opportunities both for large companies and for SMEs.

The transition to the new commission may have

raised doubts about a possible discontinuity in focus

and execution. But I am convinced that Commissio-

ner Oettinger fully embraces the challenge and the

ambitions of the ELG – in fact, he said so explicitly in

his keynote address on the European microelectro-

nics strategy at the recent DATE conference.

Rather than waiting for external advice at this inflec-

tion point, I suggest that ESIA gathers the key

players and stakeholders and helps them to formu-

late an ambitious policy and roadmap for Europe.

Also here, imec has key know-how on various core

technology components of IoT and would definitely

be willing to support an IoT-related ESIA action.

Continued from the previous page

Imec Headquarters, Leuven, Belgium