The GENESIS EU project is reshaping how Europe thinks about semiconductor manufacturing. Its goal is simple but ambitious: reduce usage of harmful chemicals from chip production, cut emissions and waste, and make the industry more circular and resilient.
Launched on 1 May 2025, GENESIS – GENerate in Europe a Sustainable Industry for Semiconductor – is a research and innovation project co-funded by the European Union through Chips JU and its participating member states. In addition, Swiss partners are supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
Coordinated by CEA-Leti in Grenoble, GENESIS brings together 58 partners from across the semiconductor value chain: materials and chemistry suppliers, equipment manufacturers, semiconductor fabs, research and technology organisations (RTOs), universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recycling specialists and communication experts. Together, they are working to build a resilient, circular and environmentally responsible microelectronics sector aligned with the European Green Deal and the European Chips Act.
Mission and Vision
GENESIS exists to future-proof the European semiconductor industry. The project focuses on:
- Eliminating or replacing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other hazardous substances used in manufacturing processes;
- Reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions throughout the production chain;
- Securing access to critical materials through smarter use, reuse and circular strategies;
- Deploying advanced monitoring and sensing solutions for gas and liquid environments in fabs.
Six Work Packages, One Integrated Approach
To reach its objectives, GENESIS is structured into six work packages.
Work Package 1 – Management, Specifications, and Methods
Lead: CEA-Leti
WP1 keeps the project on track. It manages the technical, administrative and financial coordination of GENESIS and defines common specifications and methodologies. This includes setting technical recommendations and carrying out environmental impact assessments so that shared targets and consistent methods guide all subsequent work.
Work Package 2 – Process, Monitoring & Sensing Hardware and Solution
Lead: CSEM
WP2 develops real-time monitoring technologies capable of detecting and quantifying emissions from process gases such as NF₃, CF₄ or SF₆. By improving transparency and enabling process feedback, GENESIS contributes to the transition toward low-emission semiconductor fabs aligned with EU climate goals.
Work Package 3 – Environmentally Friendly Materials Alternatives
Lead: imec
With global PFAS restrictions tightening, the semiconductor sector urgently needs high-performance, safe alternatives. GENESIS in WP3, is designing and qualifying materials for key manufacturing steps including lithography, etching, cleaning, deposition, and packaging, that reduce industry dependence on PFAS and higher GWP gases while ensuring compatibility with industry performance requirements.
Work Package 4 – Minimisation of Waste and Emissions
Lead: Fraunhofer
WP4 addresses the complexity of semiconductor waste streams and explores innovations to enhance abatement efficiency. GENESIS develops recycling, recovery, and closed-loop solutions for gases, slurries, and solvents, with the aim of significantly reducing waste across fabs.
Work Package 5 – Materials Scarcity Impact Mitigation
Lead: Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
Europe’s dependence on critical raw materials—including gallium, indium, and rare earth elements—represents both an environmental and strategic challenge. GENESIS in WP5 focuses on reducing CRM usage through process innovation and strengthening circularity to enhance supply chain resilience.
Work Package 6 – Regulations, Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation
Lead: SEMI Europe
WP 6 is dedicated to ensuring that GENESIS creates meaningful and lasting impact beyond its technical achievements. It integrates regulatory monitoring, dissemination, communication, and exploitation activities to connect the project’s innovations with industry needs, European policy developments, and wider society. WP6 is coordinated by SEMI Europe, supported by expert partners across the consortium, and serves as the bridge between GENESIS’s scientific work and its real-world influence.
Long-term strategy
GENESIS is built with one goal in mind: making sure the work happening inside the project translates into real change across Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem. To support this, the project focuses on four key impact areas that help move ideas from research into industry, policy and long-term community engagement.
- Helping Industry Put Results to Work
A core part of GENESIS is understanding how each partner can use the project’s results in their own environment. Whether it’s new materials, smarter monitoring solutions or better waste-reduction approaches, partners define clear pathways for adoption so GENESIS innovations can move naturally into real industrial use.
- Staying Connected to Europe’s Policy Agenda
Sustainability and chemical regulations in Europe are evolving fast, and GENESIS stays close to these developments. The project brings technical insights to discussions around the Green Deal, PFAS regulation, and critical raw materials. This makes sure GENESIS is not only aligned with policy trends, but also contributes to shaping them.
- Making Knowledge Accessible and Future-Focused
Open access is an essential part of GENESIS. The project shares its research outputs publicly and supports the creation of educational material for universities and training programmes. This helps the next generation of engineers and specialists build on GENESIS knowledge and carry it forward.
- Keeping GENESIS Visible and Relevant
GENESIS maintains a strong presence across events, conferences, publications and expert discussions. This ongoing engagement ensures that project results remain visible, understood and connected to wider conversations on sustainable semiconductor manufacturing—helping extend the project’s influence well beyond its duration.
Towards a Sustainable Semiconductor Future
GENESIS shows that high-performance chips and environmental responsibility can coexist. By uniting materials science, process engineering, monitoring technologies, environmental assessment and policy insight, GENESIS is helping define what responsible, future-ready semiconductor manufacturing will look like tomorrow.
Jatin Mendiratta, Communications Coordinator
SEMI Europe
Phone: +49 160 402 8899
Email: [email protected]
