Doing a lot with a little. That encapsulates the approach of Slovenia, a country whose electronics manufacturing industry is small – but continuing to grow. As a member country of the EU, Slovenia draws on its links to a wide base of research and development, as it builds on the foundation of a strong electronics manufacturing industry to cast its gaze forwards – exploring how AI and high-performance
computing can shape its future.
A few factors can be attributed to the steady growth of Slovenia’s electronics industry which include its active participation in EU-funded projects to propel forward semiconductor manufacturing and AI; specialised SMEs focusing on niche products such as PCBs and sensors; all backed up by a skilled workforce and strong R&D sector.
Strong R&D sector
Slovenia’s history in electronics manufacturing can be understood through two branches: one, through the commercialisation of products through private companies, and two, through research and development led by institutes.
Its industry dates back to the 1940s, when it was originally part of Yugoslavia, before the state split apart in the 1990s. Its expertise in ICs dates back to the 1969s, when the first ICs hit the market. Around that period, the Laboratory of Microelectronics was established at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in its capital Ljubljana, where ICs were developed for the various needs of the industry; this included developing the first smart card in cooperation with American Microsystems and integrating the first microcomputer into white goods devices.
IC design is carried out by a combination of Slovenian engineers, Master and PhD students based at global companies such as STMicroelectornics, Renishaw, and Aviat Networks, alongside Slovenian companies including RLS Merilna tehnika, Skylabs, and Beyond Semiconductor. Other companies, like Diotec Semiconductor which makes semiconductor circuits, were founded in Germany in 1973, but expanded with the addition of another facility in Trbovlje, Slovenia in 1989.
Today, these solutions can be found in products ranging from RFID readers to circuits for NFC-enabled contactless transactions and counters and
encoders in automated factories. For the research and development world, the focus is on designing, manufacturing, and testing terahertz sensor systems for integration into applications such as security devices and disease diagnosis, and ICs for positron emission tomography, biometric applications, and even in space, for radiation protection.
Research is also being carried out for integrated photonic circuits which are being regarded as a crucial component in data centres, and its use is also expanding to sensor technology, AI, and quantum computing.
Specialised SMEs
Slovenia witnessed the important establishment of companies like Iskra (meaning ‘spark’) in 1946, which originally produced switches and, later, FM antennas and capacitors. In 1962 it set up what was Yugoslavia’s first industrial design department, which gave it a competitive edge and positioned it at the forefront of product innovation.
Today, it manufactures products for electronics, electromechanics, and telecommunications, among other areas, having developed its first LTE
antenna in 2011, with operations in five countries and has 1,650 employees.
Other notable companies operating out of Slovenia include Hyb, which makes specialised thick-film hybrid circuits and pressure sensors; Eltas, which produces high-voltage transformers; and Red Pitaya, perhaps the more well-known name on the list, having established itself in open-source software design. Red Pitaya came out of Instrumentation Technologies in 2013 when the company decided it wanted to develop a product for a wider audience beyond the niche particle accelerators it made.
Intectiv, one of the largest manufacturers of PCBs, has been around since 1973, and specialises in creating high-density interconnect and multilayered flexible boards. It also has its own lab where it can develop and prototype boards. Nurturing a close collaboration with customers and research institutes is what sets Slovenian companies apart.
For instance, Elogline, a PCB producer, collaborates with the Jožef Stefan Institute, where its flexible PCBs are used in the ATLAS project; a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.
Participation in EU-funded projects
This close collaboration with research institutes is mirrored in Slovenia’s participation in various EU-funded projects, which provide it with the opportunity to partake on the world stage and draw on its electronics manufacturing expertise.
For instance, in May 2024, Slovenia cooperated with the Joint European (JU) Chips company to discuss what the establishment of a national competence centre for chips and semiconductors might look like, as part of the EU’s overarching strategy to increase self-sufficiency and supply
chain resilience in semiconductor manufacturing as outlined in the European Chips Act.
The primary objectives of the Act, which was adopted in July 2023, are to expand EU share in the market from less than 10%, to at least 20% by 2030; support cutting-edge R&D in sectors such as quantum-enabled chips; improve domestic production; develop a skilled workforce; and establish systems to forecast and respond to disruptions such as chip shortages (which would prove particularly disastrous in a modern society reliant on the different technologies chips power).
The Ministry of Digital Transformation, based in Slovenia, has been designated as the national authority responsible for implementing the EU Chips Act. In 2024, it had €700,00 set aside for research and innovation projects, and a total of €1,200,000 in 2025 – €500,000 for a chip competence centre and €700,000 for research and innovation projects.
In the discussions held, competence centres were positioned as the first entry point for users, connected to an entire network of centres, to provide
access to technical knowledge and experience in semiconductors.
Originally envisaged in May, these centres were put into practice in November that year, when the European Commission chose 24 member states to host 27 chip competence centres. These centres will provide the countries chosen with the necessary resources for developing semiconductor and chip solutions, particularly for SMEs and startups.
Slovenia was picked to host one of the chip competence centres following an application to the European call for proposals, and the Faculty of
Engineering at the University of Ljublana will act as a lead partner. And in March 2025, Slovenia was picked among countries expected to play an important role in the future of AI in Europe as part of the EU’s initiative, the European Joint Undertaking for High Performance Computing, or EuroHPC. It will host one of six new AI factories which will be powered by a high-performance supercomputer. It joins the ranks of Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, and Poland.
AI factories are a cornerstone of the EU’s strategy to make Europe an AI content and competitive in this area.
Looking forward
Slovenia is only anticipated to experience more growth, with figures from Statista forecasting that the semiconductor market will reach $243.88 million in 2025. Of the different segments, ICs are expected to dominate the market, reaching $96.70 million that same year. This is chalked up to
the country’s focus on advanced manufacturing and research.
Its industrial strategy (2021-2030) imagines a green, creative, and smart manufacturing industry, where electronics have been identified as an area ripe for the picking, through the promotion of circular production.
Electronics manufacturing may look very different in the next decade if Slovenia achieves its aim of climate neutrality by 2050, but there is no doubt that it will continue to be a bedrock for the country’s economy.
Caitlin Gittins, Editor, Electronic Specifier
This article originally appeared in the July/August issue of Procurement Pro.
