Berlin specialty chemicals company applying electrodeposition and surface finishing expertise to power semiconductors and quantum computing materials.
Atotech Deutschland GmbH is a Berlin-based specialty chemicals and equipment company whose core business is surface finishing technology — electrodeposition, plating chemistry, and related industrial processes used in advanced electronics manufacturing. In the H2020 programme, they participated as an industrial partner in large nanoelectronics consortia, contributing practical process expertise to projects targeting power semiconductor manufacturing and quantum computing materials. Their role is typically that of an industrial process specialist, validating that research outputs can be integrated into real production environments. The company bridges academic research and industrial-scale manufacturing, particularly where surface chemistry determines the performance of semiconductor devices.
Participated in R3-PowerUP (2017-2023), a project building a 300mm pilot line for smart power and power discrete semiconductors, with explicit targets for energy saving and CO2 reduction in manufacturing.
Joined MATQu (2021-2024), focused on developing materials for quantum computing hardware — their first documented engagement with quantum technologies.
Both H2020 projects fall within the nanoelectronics pilot line ecosystem, where Atotech's surface chemistry expertise supports process integration across different semiconductor platforms.
R3-PowerUP explicitly targets CO2 reduction and energy saving in semiconductor manufacturing, areas where surface finishing chemistry has a direct impact on the environmental footprint of chip production.
In their early H2020 participation (from 2017), Atotech was active in power electronics and nanoelectronics pilot line development — firmly in the domain of mature semiconductor manufacturing where surface chemistry is well established. By 2021 their documented focus shifted to quantum computing materials, signaling interest in emerging hardware platforms where electrochemical and surface finishing processes are beginning to play a role. The trajectory suggests a deliberate move from serving established power semiconductor markets toward exploring the materials requirements of next-generation computing technologies.
Atotech is moving from established power semiconductor manufacturing into quantum computing materials, suggesting they are positioning their electrodeposition and surface chemistry expertise for next-generation computing hardware platforms.
Atotech has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never taking a coordinator role — a pattern typical of large industrial companies that contribute specific process expertise rather than leading research agendas. With 52 unique partners across just 2 projects, they clearly operate within very large, multi-stakeholder European consortia of the kind common in ECSEL and KDT Joint Undertaking programmes. Working with them means fitting into a broad consortium structure where they contribute a defined industrial competence rather than driving the overall research direction.
Atotech has connected with 52 unique partners across 14 countries through just 2 projects, reflecting participation in large pan-European nanoelectronics consortia rather than targeted bilateral collaborations. Their network is broad but shallow — many connections, each from a single shared project.
Atotech brings an industrial electrochemistry and surface finishing perspective that is genuinely rare among the research institutes and universities that dominate nanoelectronics consortia — they represent what must happen at production scale for research results to become manufacturable products. For consortium builders, this makes them a credible link between lab-proven processes and industrial reality. Their documented involvement in both power electronics and quantum materials suggests they are one of the few industrial players actively tracking surface chemistry requirements across multiple semiconductor generations.
