The energy crisis is not the only one suffered by companies. The semiconductor crisis and the chip shortage have also caused an earthquake in multiple areas of the economy, forcing many companies to stop production. Car factories have been the most affected, but assembly lines of all types of sectors have been harmed, as semiconductors are an essential element in everything that contains electronics. Consequently, manufacturers of these types of components are now considered more strategic than ever, and that is why it is very good news that the American listed company Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) has decided to make a firm commitment to Catalonia, where it plans to invest 12 million euros and launch its main research and development (R&D) center in Europe.
According to executives of the multinational based in Kirkland (a city near Seattle) explained this Thursday, this investment project in the Barcelona area will mean the creation of 150 highly qualified jobs in the next five years. On the one hand, MPS plans to hire 50 new engineers to expand the semiconductor integrated circuit design center it has in the Catalan capital, where 90 people currently work. This design center was launched four years ago and until now occupied 800 m², an area that with this expansion will grow to 2,000 m².
In parallel, MPS has announced that it will build a new building in the Pedrosa industrial estate in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, on land it has just acquired from Incasòl. The project contemplates the construction of a 3,000 m² laboratory that will be operational in 2024 and will be used for testing semiconductors for electric vehicles, chargers, computers, mobile phones, data centers or technologies linked to renewable energies.
It is expected that a hundred more engineers will work in this new MPS facility in L'Hospitalet, so when the growth plan is completed, the company will have about 240 employees in Catalonia, where it will have established its main R&D center in Europe, according to the Generalitat. Since its arrival in Barcelona in 2018, the US multinational has had the support of Catalonia Trade & Investment, the foreign investment attraction area of the Acció agency, which has also granted two public aids to the company totaling 256,000 euros for being a high-impact implementation.
"Semiconductors are the most sought-after element in practically all sectors, a demand that will grow exponentially in the coming years, and where Catalonia is prepared to be a design and manufacturing hub that contributes to improving European technological sovereignty," highlighted the Minister of Business, Roger Torrent. As he explained, semiconductors have become "a priority for the Government due to their strategic value in providing coverage to the vast majority of industries present in Catalonia."
Precisely, a few days ago, the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, met in Brussels with the European Union's Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, to express Catalonia's desire to be part of the European map of research, design, and production of chips and semiconductors, taking advantage of the existence of facilities such as the Marenostrum supercomputer.
For his part, during his visit to Barcelona, the CEO and founder of MPS, Michael Hsing, expressed some of the main reasons that have led the multinational to bet on Barcelona, such as the existence "of good universities ---they already collaborate with the UPC--- and a great quality of life, which facilitate the attraction of talent." "We want to offer good job opportunities in semiconductor engineering to local talent; we believe we have a great future ahead in Catalonia," he assured. "The struggle for semiconductors is also a struggle for talent," pointed out the general director of MPS in Spain, Enric Rodríguez.
With production centers in California and Taiwan, Monolithic Power Systems is a chip manufacturer specializing in power management solutions, with a focus on electric cars and renewable energies. According to the company, its mission is to reduce total energy consumption with different products aimed at the computing, automotive, industrial, communications, and end-consumer sectors. The group has more than 3,000 employees and is listed on the Nasdaq technology market, where it is valued at more than 15 billion dollars. In 2021, it billed 1,207 million dollars, with a net profit of 242 million.