Article 11: Open EU Foundries
1. Open EU Foundries are first-of-a-kind semiconductor front-end or back-end, or both, manufacturing facilities in the Union that offer production capacity to unrelated undertakings and thereby contribute to the security of supply for the internal market.
2. An Open EU Foundry shall meet the following criteria:
(a) it qualifies as a first-of-a-kind facility;
(b) its establishment and operation have a clear positive impact on the Union's semiconductor value chain with regard to ensuring the security of supply and increasing qualified workforce, taking into account in particular the extent to which it offers front-end or back-end, or both, production capacity to undertakings not related to the facility, if there is sufficient demand;
(c) it guarantees not to be subject to the extraterritorial application of public service obligations of third countries in a way that may undermine the undertaking's ability to comply with the obligations set out in Article 21(1) and commits to inform the Commission when such obligation arises;
(d) it commits to invest in the next generation of chips.
3. Where an Open EU Foundry offers production capacity to undertakings not related to the operator of the facility, it shall establish and maintain adequate and effective functional separation of the design and manufacturing processes in order to ensure the protection of information gained at each stage.
4. For the purpose of investing in the next generation of chips according to paragraph 2, point (d), the Open EU Foundry shall have priority access to the pilot lines set up in accordance with Article 5, point (b). Any such priority access shall be without prejudice to effective access to the pilot lines by other interested undertakings.
Note: This is not the final text of the European Chips Act. This is the text of the European Chips Act Proposal of February 2022.