The Microelectronics Agenda brought together industry representatives, public entities and international experts in Aveiro for a workshop dedicated to exploring collaboration opportunities between Portugal and the United States in the microelectronics and semiconductor sectors.
The session, moderated by Alcino Lavrador, opened with welcoming remarks from AIDA CCI, PICadvanced and PCI. This was followed by a presentation of the Microelectronics Agenda by Carlos Alves (HFA), who highlighted the consortium’s achievements and its vision for strengthening Portugal’s industrial competitiveness.
The potential of the Aveiro region as an innovation hub was addressed by Pedro Almeida (Aveiro City Council) and Luís Miguel Silva (TICE.PT), who presented ongoing initiatives aimed at consolidating the region’s position within the European technology value chain.
One of the workshop’s key moments focused on Florida’s semiconductor ecosystem. Jack Henkel, from the Florida High Tech Corridor, presented the collaborative dynamics between industry, universities and research centres. Brenda Prenitzer, from NanoSpective, and Raj Gautam Dutta, from Silicon Assurance, shared their expertise in critical areas for sector development, ranging from advanced materials characterization to device quality assurance and reliability.
The technological capabilities of the Portuguese consortium were also showcased through a series of use case presentations by Patrícia Lemos (HFA), Guilherme Cabral (PICadvanced), and João Lourenço and Michael Xenya (ISR – Institute of Systems and Robotics), demonstrating practical applications developed within the framework of the Microelectronics Agenda.
The workshop concluded with remarks from Filipe Mesquita, AICEP’s Metalworking Industry Manager, who reinforced the importance of internationalisation and investment attraction in supporting the growth of the sector.
Following the workshop, more than a dozen B2B meetings took place between Portuguese companies and the U.S. delegation, creating opportunities for future technological, commercial and research partnerships.
