New Origin secures €6 million from PhotonDelta to build an independent photonic chips foundry in the Netherlands

Enschede-based New Origin, a spin out from University of Twente’s MESA+ NanoLab, has secured €6 million in funding to fuel its build of an independent photonic chips facility. The funding is part of the contribution that the Province of Overijssel has made available to PhotonDelta for a national photonics programme.

The independent photonic chips foundry will produce silicon nitride chips.

“We already have a strong cluster in the region, united in ChipTech Twente, which we can boost considerably this way,” says Professor Guus Rijnders, Scientific Director of MESA+. “Many companies want to experiment with or integrate photonics into their products, however, this can be very difficult due to the cost and complexity of producing chips. Our foundry will significantly lower the bar to entry, facilitating more innovation and help the European photonics industry to grow.”

PhotonDelta is a worldwide ecosystem of organisations that researches, designs, develops, and manufactures solutions with photonic chip technology. It is based in the Netherlands. 

Last year PhotoDelta secured €1.1 billion in public and private investment to scale up production, build 200 startups, create new applications for photonic chips and develop infrastructure and talent. 

“New Origin’s foundry is going to play an important role in building Europe’s photonic chip industry. Not only will it help to meet existing demand for chips, it will also gather invaluable insights into how we can create large scale production facilities. This is a vital step in both making Europe less dependent on other regions for chip technology and unlocking the full potential of integrated photonics,” says Ewit Roos, CEO of PhotonDelta. 

So far, PhotonDelta has invested in companies including Scantinel Photonics, Smart Photonics, LioniX International, Quix Quantum and EFFECT Photonics.

“We can be proud of the strong cluster of companies and knowledge institutions in our province that continue to invest together in the future of European chip technology. Examples include the earlier launch of the Chips Act and now this production facility. By continuing to develop, we as a province can mean a lot socially and economically with all these promising developments internationally, nationally and regionally,” added Eddy van Hijum, Deputy Economy, Finance and Europe Minister at the Province of Overijssel.