GlobalFoundries (GF), one of the industry leaders in cutting-edge semiconductor production capabilities, and Qualinx, a trailblazer in silicon-based wireless connectivity solutions offering ultra-low-power consumption, have announced the successful implementation of the first end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing process fully based in Europe.
The entire process, conducted by GF through the use of their own FDX™ technology at their world-class Fab 1 plant located in Dresden, Germany, demonstrates the potential for security-critical ICs to be designed, manufactured, and packaged entirely within the EU territory for applications such as aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure.
PNT Chips Security in the New Geopolitical Environment
The current state of geopolitically fragmented environment shows how fragile all global supply chains might be. For technological sovereignty, governments of western nations concentrate on the use of technologies such as Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) components. Today’s power systems, communications networks, and defense electronics rely on constant data streams transmitted by satellites.
Also Read: General Motors Advances Sodium-Ion Battery Development for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
For the first time in history of this project, this tape-out featured Qualinx, which designed its QLX3xx Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) SoC with advanced functionality. Designed for PNT security tasks, the QLX3xx SoC features a flexible GNSS receiver and a specially created Analog Front End (AFE). Running with minimal power consumption, this SoC is capable of providing resilient synchronization for connected arrays of edge devices, protecting both military assets and critical civilian services from spoofing attacks and jamming.
An Anchored Value Chain Under the European Chips Act
Co-funded by the European Chips Act, GlobalFoundries‘ Dresden facility is establishing a completely localized, trusted manufacturing path. The end-to-end framework consolidates every phase of the fabrication process-including initial design intake, photomask creation, silicon wafer manufacturing, and post-fab testing-entirely within the boundaries of the EU.
The closed-loop architecture ensures that no sensitive intellectual property (IP), proprietary design telemetry, or physical materials ever leave the continent. This strict operational containment satisfies the rigorous regulatory, data compliance, and information security standards mandated by European governments, national defense agencies, and critical infrastructure operators.
“We are demonstrating that Europe can rely on a secure, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow that meets the highest requirements of aerospace and defense,” said Dr. Manfred Horstmann, Senior Vice President and General Manager at GlobalFoundries. “Our partnership with Qualinx marks the first operational milestone: it shows that complex, security-relevant ASIC designs for aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure can already be industrialized today using a fully European, trusted manufacturing path.”
“This first secure product demonstrates that a fully European manufacturing path – from mask services to wafer production – is already a reality today,” said Tom Trill, CEO of Qualinx. “Together with GlobalFoundries, we’ve optimized our Digital RF technology on GF’s FDX with a secure end-to-end flow, culminating in the launch of our ultra-low-power reconfigurable Global Navigation Satellite System SoC and Analog Front End. This milestone underscores our ability to deliver trusted, energy-efficient solutions while maintaining full control over IP, data and the supply chain within Europe.”
Strategic Roadmap: Automation and Sovereign Data Routing
The successful validation of the Qualinx chip represents the initial proof point on GlobalFoundries’ long-term sovereign systems roadmap. GF intends to establish a fully automated, trusted European flow at the Dresden facility by the end of 2026. Starting in 2027, aerospace, defense, and infrastructure customers will be able to tap into this automated manufacturing path during standard foundry engagements, smoothly integrating an ecosystem of European IP partners, mask houses, and Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) vendors.
To reinforce this localized hardware pipeline, GF is also building secure software frameworks alongside European telecommunication and cloud infrastructure leaders. In a joint development initiative with Deutsche Telekom, GlobalFoundries is validating secure data transit layers designed to ensure that production telemetry—from initial design intake and GDSII tape-out through processing, parametric testing, and quality control metrics—is transported and stored strictly within Europe on sovereign cloud architectures. The resulting methodologies in data routing, end-to-end encryption, and access management will be baked directly into GF’s scaling foundry platform.
