Teltonika signed a €14 million technological cooperation agreement with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), which will help them to start a semiconductor chip industry in Lithuania. Two more Lithuanian startups are also starting cooperation with Taiwan – Oxipit received €3.5 million investment, and €8 million loan was confirmed for Solitek.

Acquiring licences for semiconductor chip technologies

The agreement entitles Teltonika to obtain licences for semiconductor chip manufacturing technologies and devices developed by ITRI. It also ensures that the company group will get assistance in preparing detailed plans and engineering training for employees. 

“This is the beginning of the 21st century gold industry and a new phase of our economy, where we will focus on world-changing technologies. We have the potential to establish ourselves in the global semiconductor market, and this partnership with Taiwan will help Lithuania to move forward rapidly, match the world’s strongest players and realise its ambitious goals,” said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

“This is a truly historic event for Lithuania, as it will be the largest ITRI cooperation project with a foreign country in its 50-year history. I am thankful to the Government of Taiwan for its confidence in us and to the Lithuanian politicians for their support in the negotiations. This agreement proves that we are reliable partners capable of developing such complex projects. I believe that by implementing the planned works, we will help Lithuania to break through alongside the most advanced countries in the world,” said Arvydas Paukštys, founder and president of the Teltonika company group.   

Developing technologies for the renewable energy industry 

According to A. Paukštys, ITRI will provide technologies that are widely used today in power electronics, producing energy management devices such as solar inverters, electric vehicle chargers and other home and industrial electronics. 

“When the idea of producing semiconductor chips in Lithuania was born a few years ago, we initially considered slightly different, more traditional technologies. However, after a thorough market analysis, we decided to develop niche semiconductor technologies used in renewable energy, electric vehicles or other industrial power module solutions. In addition, we will offer semiconductor chip design, assembly and testing services to our customers,” said the president of the company group.  

Detailed project plans are yet to be announced 

Thanks to the newly established relations between Lithuania and Taiwan on common values, the technologies developed in Taiwan and the knowledge of their experts will be used in preparation for the launch of a semiconductor chip industry in Lithuania.  

The contract between ITRI and Teltonika is worth €14 million, of which €10 million will come from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs under a bilateral cooperation plan between Lithuanian and Taiwanese governments and another €4 million from the Teltonika company group. The project’s total value will be finalised after more detailed calculations during the preparatory phase and after assessing the investment needed for the installation of infrastructure and the construction of factories for the semiconductor chip industry.  

The semiconductor industry in Lithuania will encompass such new activities as semiconductor chip design, fabrication, assembly and testing, and power module manufacturing. We will soon start preparing detailed plans for these projects, which, according to initial estimates, could take around a couple of years, until 2025.