Often neglected, dismissed, haunted by stereotypes and brain drain, Sicily has emerged as a key piece in the EU’s grand scheme to develop an integrated semiconductors value chain. 

Its industrial hub, Catania, on the island’s eastern coast, is where French–Italian semiconductor firm STMicroelectronics is developing a €5bn fully integrated facility able to handle the whole production process of silicon carbide (SiC) chips — from dust to chips, the world’s first of its kind. 

In the age of urbanisation, Catania had lost around 100,000 inhabitants to migration and local displacement over the past 50 years. But this project has breathed new life into both the city as a whole and its high-tech district in particular. 

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Chip production 

STMicroelectronics unveiled the project with great fanfare in May 2024. The Italian government, which shares a 27.51% joint stake in the company with its French counterpart, will cover as much as €2bn, or 40% of the total investment with funds from the European Chips act. 

Expected to begin production in 2026, the site will ramp up at full capacity by 2033, when it will produce 15,000 SiC wafers per week. SiC chips have become a sought-after alternative to traditional silicon chips for power chips. 

“This is essential technology for the next 30 years,” emphasised European commissioner Margrethe Vestager at the project launch in May. “There would be no electric vehicles without power chips. So many applications wouldn’t happen without power chips.” 

Catania research prowess

STMicroelectronics’ commitment to Catania is no coincidence. The University of Catania, alongside the National Research Council (CNR) has pioneered the research into SiC chips since the 1990s, Corrado Spinella, the director general of the University of Catania and former head of the Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems at the National Research Council, notes. 

In those same years, the company opened its local production site. Its presence intensified the industry–research collaboration that allowed the ecosystem to blossom and host major names such as Micron, IBM and Nokia. But the boom of the early 2000s was to be followed by the down years that followed the global financial crisis, which saw many restructure and take production to Asia. Nokia left Catania in 2012, Micron in 2015 and IBM in 2018. STMicroelectronics itself went through several restructurings of its Catania operations. 

“The industry-research interaction made it possible to stay at the forefront of tech innovation, even when the market was going through a down moment,” Mr Spinella argues.

People and water challenges 

An investment of the magnitude of STMicroelectronics’ new SiC production lines will have to clear several hurdles to live up to expectations. The 3000 high-skilled jobs being created account for 30% of the current 9100 people that the Bank of Italy tracked as employed in the local electronics cluster at the end of 2021. That makes recruitment a challenge. 

Water is another possible flashpoint. STMicroelectronics already consumes 400 cubic metres of water per hour in its facility in Catania, according to its 2022 environmental reporting — as much as 55,000 Sicilians. The region is prone to droughts and water is being rationed in certain urban areas in Catania this summer. With capacity on the rise, the company is assessing ways to reduce its water footprint via reduction, reuse and recycling. 

Despite these challenges, the project is already ramping up and its impact is reverberating across the whole geography. 

“The whole electronics cluster is already developing both in terms of human capital and companies active in the cluster,” Mr Spinella says. “I see that already — everyday more.” 

Sicily is hardly perceived as a place for innovation and cutting-edge technology. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. There are pockets of excellence, like Catania’s microelectronics cluster. In the new age of regionalisation and resilience, the stars are aligned for it to become a first stepping stone towards a different future. One of digital security for Europe; one where deindustrialisation and brain drain are just a thing of the past for Sicily. 

This article first appeared in the August/September 2024 print edition of fDi Intelligence.