Editor’s Note
This article details a major €2.35 billion joint venture to establish a diamond semiconductor plant in Spain, a strategic move positioning the country as a key supplier in the global chip supply chain.
Diamond Foundry and the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT) will build a chip component plant in Trujillo with an investment of €2.35 billion. The Council of Ministers has approved SETT’s participation with €752 million in this joint project with Diamond Foundry. This initiative, part of the Chip PERTE (Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation), will turn the Cáceres municipality into a hub for the semiconductor industry.
According to the Ministry for Digital Transformation, the new plant will produce components for high-performance chips using technology based on synthetic diamonds. With its launch, Spain will become the world’s largest center for diamond substrates for semiconductors.
Diamond Foundry already manufactures monocrystalline diamond ingots in Trujillo, identical to natural diamonds, intended for industrial applications such as cutting tools and optics. The project will expand these capabilities and enable specific production for semiconductors. This is a major development for Trujillo.
The following are the main economic and employment figures associated with the project:
**Concept** | **Data**
:— | :—
Total Investment | €2.35 billion
SETT Contribution | €752 million
Contribution to GDP | €2.15 billion over 10 years
Direct Jobs | Around 500
Indirect Jobs | More than 1,600
The plant will manufacture monocrystalline diamonds as a semiconductor substrate for high-performance wafers and chips. This material increases efficiency with lower energy consumption and offers the best performance in high-voltage, high-temperature, and high-frequency applications due to its electrical and thermal properties.
The project will expand ingot manufacturing and incorporate new activities. What specific jobs will be performed at the factory?
* Wafer cutting for semiconductors
* High-precision lapping or smoothing
* Polishing of wafer surfaces
* Inspection and quality review of wafers
With these phases, the facility will be a cutting-edge and unique production center for this chip material, supplying major companies in the sector, the chip manufacturing industry, and sectors such as defense and automotive.
The project will have a significant economic impact, with an estimated contribution of €2.15 billion to GDP over ten years and hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, as reflected in the figures above.
The SETT investment is integrated into the Chip PERTE, which aims to strengthen the design and production of microelectronics and semiconductors in Spain. The president of Diamond Foundry Spain, Rafael Benjumea, expressed his satisfaction with the Council of Ministers’ decision and described the project as “absolutely novel” on a global scale.
