EBSCON 2026: ‘Crossroads – Europe at a Turning Point’ – a recap

Graz/Villach, 9 October 2026. Europe is at a turning point when it comes to semiconductors, AI and strategic technologies. EBSCON, the leading trade fair for the European semiconductor and electronics industry, held in Graz on 7 October 2026, was therefore themed ‘Crossroads – Europe at a Turning Point’. The central question – how quickly, and through what measures, Europe, as the global market leader in chip technologies, can translate technological expertise into tangible industrial strength and value creation – ran through all the keynote speeches, panel discussions and debates. EBSCON 2026, which took place for the second time as part of EBSCON WEEK, brought together various levels: European strategy, regional location policy, innovation, start-ups and industrial implementation.

• ‘Crossroads’ and how Europe can translate its technological know-how into value creation within the European region were the focus of EBSCON 2026.
• Storytelling, networking, strength, as well as passion and perseverance for long-term, meaningful goals – this is how enthusiastic participants described their key impressions of EBSCON 2026.
• With a new visitor record, EBSCON has once again proved this year that it is a European hot spot: for the first time, more than 500 participants from 24 countries took part in EBSCON WEEK in Graz and Klagenfurt.
• Speakers from the UK, Germany, Japan, France and the Netherlands.
• The event was opened by Provincial Councillor Willibald Ehrenhöfer, Silicon Alps Cluster Managing Director Robert Gfrerer, and a message from Carinthia’s Governor Daniel Fellner.
• Keynote speeches by Hideki Chou, Jonas Jütting and Hermann Hauser, as well as ‘Impulse Talks’ with industry representatives in the two co-sessions: the Innovation Lab ‘Dual Use’ and the Semiconductor Future Lab powered by AT-C³, the Austrian Chips Competence Centre.
• A panel discussion and wrap-up on ‘Europe’s Semiconductor Value Chain’ featuring Jan Preibisch (AT&S), Brian Hotani (SPRIND), Wolfgang Steinbauer (NXP Austria), Peter Strutzmann (Lam Research) and Martin Haintz (HAINTZ IT SOLUTIONS) delved deeply into this year’s central theme, ‘Crossroads’.
• International Business Mission with delegations from Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan in Carinthia and Styria.
• Presentation of the winners of the Infineon Start-up Challenge “Humanoid Robotics”: Adaptronics s.r.l from Italy, COSMOKE from South Korea and TECHiFAB from Germany.
• Pitch sessions by the 32 exhibitors, intensive networking and matchmaking throughout the event, featuring 174 organised speed-dating sessions
• EBSCON WEEK 2026: This year’s EBSCON was part of a series of events organised in cooperation with the SILICON ALPS Cluster in Graz and Villach, a strong business hub with globally successful companies

In their opening statements, Styrian Provincial Councillor for Economic Affairs Willibald Ehrenhöfer and Carinthian Governor Daniel Fellner emphasised the uniqueness of the high-tech region in southern Austria. In his digital message to Graz, Daniel Fellner highlighted this year’s EBSCON motto: “Crossroads – decide.disrupt.deliver:  Strong and innovative companies make the region a leading platform for microelectronics, where the future is shaped through collaboration.”

Willibald Ehrenhöfer also expressed his conviction regarding the joint southern Austrian high-tech region: “Here, strong industrial and scientific expertise are closely intertwined. If we work together to further develop this potential, our companies can grow, develop new technologies and tap into international markets.”

Robert Gfrerer, Managing Director of the Silicon Alps Cluster and President of the Silicon Europe Alliance, believes Europe is well on its way to becoming a global market leader: “The key now is to scale up innovation more quickly, tap into new markets and secure industrial value creation in Europe. Southern Austria can play a major role in this, as it is here that expertise from microelectronics, the automotive sector, security, power electronics, research and industry converge.”

As part of the ‘Queue Pitching’ session,  the 32 exhibitors took to the stage  right at the start of EBSCON 2026.

The two-part opening keynote, ‘From Emerging Technologies to European Leadership’, this time examined the future of the semiconductor industry in Europe from both a technological and a strategic perspective.

Semiconductor Future Lab powered by AT-C³

“Get started, act on it, don’t complain but push” – this was the summary provided by the speakers at the “Semiconductor Future Lab”: Christina Hirschl, Silicon Austria Labs; Sana Ibrahim, Grenoble INP – UGA; Elly Zwartkruis, ChipNL Competence Centre; Christian Stockreiter, ams OSRAM; and  Jonas Jütting, European Commission. Led by Lukas Lassbacher from the AT-C³Austrian Chips Competence Centre, they identified ‘opportunity areas’, strong application markets and skilled workers – both well-trained and with practical experience gained in companies – as the key challenges shaping the European semiconductor industry.

In the concluding ‘wrap-up’, Robert Gfrerer, Managing Director of the SILICON ALPS Cluster, summarised the key takeaways from this year’s EBSCON: ‘It’s technology, stupid!’ – technology is the decisive driver of Europe’s competitiveness. As a pioneering example, he highlighted the technology from Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) presented at EBSCON. His closing appeal: “We need excellence!” – Europe needs technological excellence and the determination to consistently put innovations into practice.

A busy few days in the south: EBSCON Week

For the second time, EBSCON was part of the EBSCON Week series of events from 6 to 9 October 2026, kicking off with the Infineon Startup Challenge Demo Day in Graz, EBSCON on Wednesday, the first Carinthia Applied Systems Day ‘Robotics’ in Klagenfurt, and company visits for international delegations from Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan in Carinthia and Styria on 8 and 9 October 2026.

Pictures (c) Christof Hütter