Left to right: Pragmatic Semiconductor CEO David Moore with HRH Princess Anne

Pragmatic Semiconductor was honoured to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to officially open the UK’s first 300mm semiconductor wafer fabrication line (fab) at Pragmatic Park in Durham. The advanced manufacturing facility produces chips based on Pragmatic’s innovative and unique flexible integrated circuit technology. HRH The Princess Royal was hosted by David Moore, CEO, Pragmatic Semiconductor, with a tour of the clean room and facilities, followed by an unveiling of a site plaque to mark the occasion. Attendees included key customers, ecosystem partners, investors and government officials.

The Pragmatic Semiconductor plant at Durham has developed technology that allows it to make the crucial chips that power a huge range of products quicker, at low cost and using less energy and water. The company is hoping to create 500 jobs at Durham and in Cambridge over the next few years as it increases production.

Pragmatic Park, at Meadowfield, has capacity to host up to nine fabrication lines, each capable of producing billions of chips per year.     Its plans were boosted last year when it secured more than £180m in investment from groups including Northern Gritstone, Latitude and MVolution Partners, British Patient Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Prosperity7 Ventures. Backing also came from the UK Infrastructure Bank.

The company was formed in Cambridge but first set up production facilities at NETPark in Sedgefield, taking advantage of facilities already available through the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centre. The unit at Meadowfield has significant capacity beyond what is currently in use to allow for expansion in the coming years.

After touring the facility and meeting staff, Princess Anne said the company's "vision for the future" was a "really exciting project from so many perspectives".

Pragmatic Semiconductor CEO Dave Moore said: “Today’s official opening marks a key milestone in Pragmatic’s growth trajectory and for the UK on the global semiconductor stage. I am incredibly proud of what the team has achieved and the ambition of our mission to enable item level intelligence in over a trillion sustainable, smart items over the next decade.

“Such intelligence at scale has the power to accelerate the digital transformation across industries. Sustainability is at the very core of our technology and extends to how FlexICs enable our customers to further drive innovations and pathways through their products and services towards global net zero goals.”

Yesterday's event was attended by a number of the financiers who have invested in Pragmatic. Mr Moore said the backing it had received made it Europe's largest ever semiconductor investment.

Production of semiconductors has become a global challenge in recent years as a shortage caused by the pandemic hampered a wide range of industries, including car manufacturing. The industry is dominated by companies in the Far East but it is hoped that companies like Pragmatic will help the UK recover some ground on overseas competitors.

Simon Little, banking and investments director at the UK Infrastructure Bank, who is also a Pragmatic board member said: “The Bank invested in Pragmatic to support low carbon domestic manufacturing of semiconductors in the UK. The official opening of Pragmatic Park in Durham marks a pivotal next step in its journey, and we look forward to seeing the long-term impact of our investment, as Pragmatic scales up its operation and creates highly skilled jobs here in the North East.”

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