Chips JU opens 16 calls worth over €300 million

The Chips JU has opened applications for 16 new calls, offering over €300 million in EU funding for research, innovation, skills and infrastructure projects across the entire electronic components and systems. The calls opened on 7 July 2026 and the submission deadlines vary from mid to late September 2026, depending on the call.

The calls are organised under the two pillars of the Chips JU Multiannual Work Programme. Electronic Components and Systems Research and Innovation (ECS R&I) funds research and innovation projects, while the Chips for Europe Initiative funds capacity building and infrastructure. Together, the two pillars cover the full scope of the Chips JU mandate, from early-stage research to the skills and facilities needed in Europe.

Electronic Components and Systems R&I

Ten calls are available under the ECS R&I programme, with a combined budget of approximately €180 million. Two of these calls, the second phase of the Global Innovation Action (€40 million) and the second phase of the Global Research and Innovation Action (€50 million), are only open to consortia that submitted a project outline in the earlier phase and were invited to proceed to a full project proposal. 

The remaining calls target specific priorities identified in the 2026 Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, including resilience actions in power electronics, photonics and health (€20 million each), 6G radio communication systems (€20 million), and international cooperation with India, Singapore and Taiwan (€5 million). Three coordination and support actions (CSAs) complete the ECS calls, addressing ECS supply chain resilience, a European autonomous driving stack, and a framework to monitor the impact of Chips JU-funded projects.

Chips for Europe Initiative

Six calls are open under the Chips for Europe Initiative, with a combined budget of approximately €130 million. Three focus on skills: the Skills Hubs of Excellence (€20 million), the Pilot Federation (€10 million), and the Stimulation of Chip Design (€15 million), which together aim to build regional training capacity and grow the pipeline of chip design talent in Europe. Two calls address AI compute infrastructure: a call for AI chip demonstrators (€10 million) and a large-scale call for an AI compute evaluation and deployment platform (€70 million). A sixth call targets joint research with Japan on semiconductors (€3 to €5 million).

Deadlines

- 16 September 2026:  Resilience calls (power electronics, photonics, health, 6G), Digital Partnership/TTC cooperation

– 17 September 2026: ECS Global IA and RIA (2nd phase)
- 22 September 2026: Supply chain resilience CSA, autonomous driving stack SDV-CSA
- 23 September 2026: AI chip demonstrators, AI compute evaluation platform
- 24 September 2026: Skills Hubs of Excellence, Pilot Federation, Stimulation of Chip Design, EU-Japan call
- 30 September 2026: Impact monitoring and assessment framework

How to apply

Proposals can be submitted through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, under the relevant calls identifier. Full call texts with the call description and specific submission procedure, eligibility criteria and evaluation process for each call are available on the Chips JU Open & Upcoming calls page.