Twente will become the center of a global revolution in photonics with the development of New Origin, an advanced production facility for photonic chips. Thanks to a grant from the province of Overijssel and the involvement of regional development company Oost NL as a shareholder, the company is progressing from planning to the actual construction of the plant.
The arrival of New Origin strengthens Twente's position as an international leader in integrated photonics, a technology that leverages light to process information more quickly and efficiently. New Origin has emerged from the region's historic accumulation of knowledge, partly stemming from the pioneering work of the University of Twente's (UT) MESA+ Institute. New Origin aims to produce its first photonic chips by the end of 2026, laying the groundwork for applications in ultra-fast communications for AI, consumer products, medical devices, and quantum technology.
INVESTMENT TO INNOVATE AND GROW
The realization of New Origin is an important step for ChipTech Twente, in which education, government and industry work closely together to further develop the region's unique strength in analog chip design, chip design software, supply to the semiconductor industry and new technology such as quantum and photonics. New Origin focuses on the production of high-performance Silicon Nitride (SiN) photonic chips. These chips use light instead of electricity, allowing information transfer at higher speeds and lower energy consumption. Their applications are wide-ranging, ranging from smart car sensors to medical diagnostics and quantum computers to AR/VR.
