To secure critical supply chains and speed up the journey from lab research to market reality, the UK has officially launched the Semiconductor Catapult. Transitioned from the former Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult, this expanded national asset addresses essential infrastructure gaps while serving broader strategic sectors, including defence and energy-efficient AI hardware.
The initiative provides domestic companies with end-to-end access to chip design, supply chain integration, packaging, and system testing. Operating out of specialist laboratories in Newport, Bristol, and Glasgow, it serves as a central hub for startups, SMEs, and large industry players. It is also one of the few facilities in Europe housing co-located teams across power electronics, RF and microwave, photonics, quantum technologies, and advanced packaging.
The Catapult prioritizes four core semiconductor technology areas:
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Advanced Packaging & Heterogeneous Integration: Advancing chiplet and system-in-package solutions to bypass traditional silicon scaling limits.
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Power Electronics & Thermal Management: Designing efficient power architectures capable of handling high-density computing loads.
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Photonics & Optical Interconnects: Speeding up data movement across optical networks and emerging quantum systems.
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RF & Mixed-Signal Integration: Developing next-generation analog and beam-forming hardware for secure communications.
The roadmap rolls out in two distinct stages. The first phase establishes core silicon integration tools so businesses can test new architectures and de-risk early-stage designs. The second phase focuses on system-level validation, opening pathways for commercial scale-up and low-volume domestic manufacturing.
“Semiconductors are the critical infrastructure behind AI hardware, defence, energy and communications,” noted CEO Caroline O’Brien. “The Semiconductor Catapult ensures more of the technologies, supply chains and economic benefits created by semiconductor innovation are developed and retained in the UK. By bringing together multi-disciplinary expertise, specialist facilities and system-level integration capability, we will help companies reduce risk and accelerate their route to market.”
