Brussels, 28/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 27 September, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that one of its vice-presidents, Philippe de Fontaine Vive, had signed a financing contract with STMelectronics in the form of a €350 million loan as part of industrial and research-development programmes on new generations of semi-conductor circuits.
The loan represents a new phase for the EIB in its mission to fund competitiveness in Europe at the level of innovation and research, and an opportunity for STM to later increase its financial flexibility and to strengthen its already sound capital structure.
Research conducted as part of this programme is geared to fine-tuning the next generations of electronic microchips with a view to: - the development of innovative and economically competitive technology to meet the demands of the digital economy (convergence of multimedia and communications, roaming); - and the reduction of electricity consumption for ICT and telecommunication equipment, and improved energy efficiency.
The complete cycle of the process leading to the availability of new applications is concerned by this work - research within the framework of technological platforms as far as the design of products. Work is to be carried out over a three-year period on the French STM sites located in Rousset, Crolles, Grenoble and Tours.
Work will especially allow the development of new applications in the field of portable equipment, largely drawing on the power and autonomy of batteries used in such applications. In addition to information technology and telecommunications, the work is expected to be of benefit to industrial sectors and to the motor industry in particular. (O.L./transl.jl)