News: Microelectronics
10 March 2026
Indra leading GIGaNTE project to develop autonomous Spanish gallium nitride and advanced packaging technologies
Spain-based multi-national Indra Group is leading the research, development and innovation (RDI) project GIGaNTE (Gallium Nitride and Advanced Packaging Technologies Research Initiative), a strategic initiative to provide Spain with the necessary capabilities to autonomously develop technologies based on gallium nitride (GaN) for advanced defence applications, especially in high-reliability radar and communications systems.
The project involves a proprietary GaN manufacturing process that aims to enable progress in new high-performance electronic devices and circuits, capable of working in very demanding frequency ranges. This work includes developing specialized monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and advanced integration and packaging techniques that facilitate their incorporation into more compact, reliable and efficient modules and antennas.
Launched in January, the initiative has a budget of more than €9m and is expected to last for four years. For the first time in Spain, it will enable the configuration of an integral value chain, from the design of advanced devices to their manufacture, integration and final validation. The project is part of the Science and Innovation Missions Program (PEICTI 2024-2027) of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and University, managed through the Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) and contributes to strengthening Spanish technological sovereignty in an area of high strategic criticality with the aim of integrating into the future European compound semiconductor value chain.
Led by Indra Group, the consortium includes leading companies such as Televes Corp, SPARC Foundry and RBZ Robot Design, which will provide complementary capabilities in advanced electronics, integrated circuit design and, in the case of SPARC Foundry, its industrial open manufacturing platform in III-V and GaN technologies, key to providing the project with a scalable production capacity. Scientific teams from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the University of Vigo, the University of Salamanca and the Galician Telecommunications Technology Center (GRADIANT) will also collaborate, contributing with specialized research on GaN architectures, device characterization, the development of compact models and new approaches to circuit integration.
“Gallium nitride is set to transform the next generation of defense and communications systems, and leading a project like GIGaNTE is a clear demonstration of Indra Group’s commitment to the development of critical technology capabilities from Spain,” says Joaquín Ponz, head of Portfolio and Innovation at Indra Group. “Undertaking the coordination of this strategic initiative allows us to foster a first-class industrial and scientific ecosystem and to advance towards much more powerful, efficient and reliable radar, electronic warfare and communications systems,” he adds. “Having the capacity to develop and produce it in Spain is key to strengthening the technological sovereignty and competitiveness of our industry at a time when Europe needs to have its own solutions that reinforce strategic autonomy.”
Boosting the chip ecosystem
GIGaNTE is part of the Indra Group’s commitment to strengthen national capabilities in critical technologies, a strategy it also drives through SPARC Foundry, in which it is a majority shareholder with a 37% stake. In June 2025, Indra announced it was taking a stake in SPARC to lead Spanish design and production of chips based on gallium nitride and other III-V technologies, in what is reckoned to be one of the three most ambitious initiatives in Europe in photonic and radio frequency semiconductors.
In January, Indra took a new step by beginning construction in Vigo of Spain’s first GaN chip factory, which should strengthen technological sovereignty and serve as the basis for future advanced systems in defense and aerospace, consolidating Indra’s role in a strategic area for Spain and Europe. This industrial infrastructure forms the basis of the project’s future manufacturing capabilities and is integrated into development of the SPARC Foundry technology platform.
