Silicon Photonics at a Crossroads: Why Manufacturing Access, Not Innovation, Is the Real Barrier

Silicon photonics—the integration of optical components onto silicon chips—is widely regarded as a breakthrough technology for energy-efficient data centres, AI hardware, and high-bandwidth communications. But according to new 2026 market research from the CORNERSTONE Photonics Innovation Centre, the sector is stalled by a problem that has little to do with innovation: a widespread lack of scale-up manufacturing infrastructure.

Commissioned by CORNERSTONE and conducted by OnePoll, the research surveyed 500 decision-makers involved in developing or deploying silicon photonics chips across the UK, US, Netherlands, Germany, and Spain . The headline finding: 66% of respondents say manufacturing access is the primary barrier to commercialisation, and 59% say their country lacks the infrastructure needed to progress from research to commercial deployment .

Silicon photonics is on track to become a $46.5 billion industry by 2035 , but without targeted investment in pilot lines and scale-up pathways, that growth is at risk. This article examines the barriers identified in the CORNERSTONE survey, the financial implications for the sector, and the policy opportunities—particularly the EU Chips Act 2.0—that could help silicon photonics cross what the industry calls the 'valley of death.'

The Core Barrier: It’s Not Innovation, It’s Infrastructure

One of the most striking findings from the CORNERSTONE research is that the sector’s bottleneck has shifted. European deep tech generally does not lack grant money or early-stage research funding—it struggles to translate that research into industrial production. The EU Photonics Roadmap, released just before the CORNERSTONE survey in June 2026, expressed this bluntly: "The challenge is not innovation — it's the transition from science to industry" .

The CORNERSTONE data backs that up. Across the five markets surveyed, companies can prototype but cannot scale. The research found that two-thirds of firms cannot get a research chip onto a fab line to scale it . This manufacturing access gap is most acute for young companies and SMEs that lack the capital to build their own fabrication facilities.

The UK-focused portion of the survey—which polled 100 domestic decision-makers—found that 76% of UK respondents believe improved domestic scale-up infrastructure would accelerate company growth, and 74% say a UK pilot line would accelerate innovation . Trade barriers compound the problem: 32% of UK respondents reported being impacted by tariffs on overseas manufacturing, further driving demand for sovereign silicon photonics capabilities .

Financial Impacts: A $46.5B Market at Risk

The economic stakes are high. CORNERSTONE projects the global silicon photonics market will reach $46.5 billion by 2035 . The UK photonics sector alone is worth £18.5 billion and employs roughly the same workforce as the UK automotive industry—double the employment of pharmaceuticals, steel, or chemical production .

The risk is that without scale-up infrastructure, much of that value will be captured elsewhere. Policy evidence from the EU indicates that Europe's ability to capture semiconductor value depends on strengthening research, innovation, skills, design, production, and supply-chain resilience across the ecosystem .

The European Court of Auditors has already flagged the urgency of the situation. In a June 2026 special report, the Court recommended that the European Commission "urgently carry out a reality check on the Chips Act strategy" and take short-term corrective actions in cooperation with member states and industry .

Policy Opportunities: How the EU Chips Act 2.0 Can Help

The CORNERSTONE survey arrives at a pivotal moment for European semiconductor policy. In June 2026, the European Commission proposed the EU Chips Act 2.0, building on the original 2023 legislation. The new framework is designed to strengthen Europe's semiconductor industry, reduce strategic dependencies, boost demand for chips, and support the design and production of advanced and mainstream chips in the EU .

Several elements of Chips Act 2.0 align directly with the barriers identified in the CORNERSTONE survey:

Pilot-Line Infrastructure

The original Chips Act included a 'Pillar 1' focus on research infrastructure through the Chips for Europe Initiative. Council of the EU stakeholder input, published in June 2026, called for enhanced pilot-line infrastructure and clearer pathways from research to industrial production across different technology readiness levels . The new Chips Act 2.0 responds by emphasising quicker industrialisation of pilot lines and transforming successful pilot manufacturing facilities into commercially viable capabilities .

Value Chain Support Beyond Front-End Manufacturing

A persistent criticism of the original Chips Act was its focus on front-end chip manufacturing. Stakeholders told the Council that the scope must expand to encompass the full electronics value chain, including back-end manufacturing, packaging, and printed circuit boards . The Chips 2.0 proposal appears to address this by including integrated photonics, quantum, and AI/neuromorphic technologies in its design platform scope .

Commercialisation and Market Uptake

An implementation dialogue in March 2026 with Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen highlighted that Europe needs a more comprehensive semiconductor industrial policy that pairs manufacturing support with stronger measures for chip design, scale-up, and market uptake . SEMI Europe has echoed this, recommending a revision of the 'first-of-a-kind' definition to better reflect the full breadth of the semiconductor value chain .

UK-Specific Policy Context

While the CORNERSTONE survey spans five countries, the UK findings are particularly notable given the country’s position outside the EU's Chips Act framework. The University of Southampton—which hosts CORNERSTONE—submitted a response to the UK Parliament calling silicon photonics "commercially relevant" and highlighting its advantages: energy efficiency critical to future telecoms, data centres, and AI, and support for very high-bandwidth interconnects .

The UK's photonics sector has strong fundamentals: the UK leads Europe in photonics innovation, ranking third globally behind the USA and China . However, the survey data suggests that without domestic pilot-line investment, the UK risks losing its competitive edge. The call for a UK-specific silicon photonics pilot line is now a central policy recommendation from the CORNERSTONE centre .

Why Silicon Photonics Matters for AI and Quantum Hardware

Silicon photonics is not just about faster internet. It is increasingly positioned as a foundational technology for next-generation computing. The University of Southampton policy response frames silicon photonics as enabling energy-efficient devices critical to future telecoms, data centres, and AI . CORNERSTONE Director Professor Graham Reed told TechRadar Pro that silicon photonics will "solve critical AI challenges" and highlighted the need for a national pilot line .

The technology’s ability to provide high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnects makes it essential for scaling AI infrastructure—where data centre energy consumption has become a critical constraint. Integrated photonics could significantly reduce data centre energy consumption while accelerating edge AI .

The Path Forward: From Research to Industrial Reality

Barrier	Evidence	Policy Response
Manufacturing & scale-up access	66% cite manufacturing access as primary barrier; 59% say country lacks scale-up infrastructure	Expanded pilot-line infrastructure under Chips Act 2.0
Strategic dependency on overseas fabrication	32% of UK firms impacted by tariffs; strong support (76%) for domestic scale-up	Sovereign capability investment; reduced external dependencies under Chips Act 2.0
Fragmented value chain support	Stakeholders urge broader support across full electronics value chain, not just front-end manufacturing	Revised FOAK definition; inclusion of photonics, quantum, AI in Chips for Europe Initiative 2.0
Weak industrial policy complement	Commission dialogue participants call for more comprehensive semiconductor industrial policy	Pair manufacturing investment with skills, demand, innovation, and commercialisation measures
Research-to-market gap	EU Photonics Roadmap: "The challenge is not innovation — it's the transition from science to industry"	Clearer pathways from research through pilot lines to industrial deployment

The core message from the CORNERSTONE survey and supporting policy evidence is unambiguous: silicon photonics commercialisation depends heavily on manufacturing access, pilot-line capability, and research-to-industry pathways—not only on early-stage research activity . Chips Act 2.0 and related EU policy discussions are positioned to address these gaps, but the window of opportunity is open—and may not stay open for long. As the European Court of Auditors has warned, urgent reality checks and corrective actions are needed .