Commission clears Germany's 353 million euro chip aid for ELEMENT 3-5

The European Commission has raised no objections to a German State aid measure worth 353 054 577 EUR in favour of ELEMENT 3-5 GmbH for the SiCnature project, according to an authorisation notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The decision was adopted on 14 July 2026 under aid number SA.119614 and published in the C series on 18 September 2026 as document C/2026/4906. The aid takes the form of a direct grant for the manufacture of electronic components in the Städteregion Aachen.

The notice appears under the standard heading “Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Cases where the Commission raises no objections”, and carries the EEA relevance marker. The measure is classified as an ad hoc case specific to ELEMENT 3-5 GmbH, meaning it was notified and assessed individually rather than under an approved aid scheme. Its legal basis is set out in §§ 23 and 44 of the Bundeshaushaltsordnung (Federal Budget Regulation).

The measure at a glance

• Aid number: SA.119614
• Member State: Germany
• Region: Städteregion Aachen
• Beneficiary and project: ELEMENT 3-5 GmbH – Project SiCnature [BMWE IVA2]
• Form of aid: direct grant
• Overall budget: 353 054 577 EUR
• Annual budget: 353 054 577 EUR
• Duration: from 12 June 2026
• Economic sector: manufacture of electronic components

The published notice records the overall and annual budget as identical figures, indicating that the full amount is booked within a single annual tranche. The intensity field of the standard notification table is left blank in the published version.

Objectives and granting authority

The stated objectives of the measure are sectorial development and regional development, including territorial cooperation. The combination places the grant at the intersection of industrial policy for electronic components and cohesion-oriented support for the Aachen region.

The granting authority is the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, Referat IVA2, at Chausseestraße 23, 10115 Berlin. The reference “[BMWE IVA2]” attached to the project title in the notice corresponds to that departmental unit.

Publication and access to the decision

The authorisation was published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union on 18 September 2026, with the European Legislation Identifier http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/4906/oj. The notice states that the authentic text of the decision, with all confidential information removed, can be consulted through the Commission’s competition case search facility for State aid instruments.

The decision itself was taken on 14 July 2026, roughly two months before its publication in the Official Journal, and the aid period runs from 12 June 2026.

Why it matters

The clearance allows Germany to disburse a nine-figure direct grant into the European manufacture of electronic components, a segment at the centre of current EU efforts to secure semiconductor and wider chip-related supply chains. For the Städteregion Aachen, the decision locks in a substantial regional development commitment tied to a single named beneficiary. The absence of objections also confirms that the Commission found the measure compatible with the internal market under Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, clearing the way for implementation without further State aid procedure.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, C series, C/2026/4906, 18 September 2026, notices, p. 1 (official reference: C/2026/4906).