The Minister, with the support of the regions, submitted the Belgian candidacy to the European Commission to set up an AI Factory (AIF) in our country, an intermediate level between a simple IA antenna and a giga-factory.
The Belgian proposal retains two sites, one on each side of the linguistic border, which will work in tandem and will be “interconnected”. It is the Green Energy Park of Zellik and a site in Charleroi. We think in particular of the Cenaero site which already has its supercomputer. Belgium is not, at this stage, a candidate for an industrial type gigafactoy-which requires giga-investments.
“AI is such a major transformation as the Internet was 30 years ago. If we want to keep in control of our digital future, we have to get on board, ”insists Vanessa Matz. “The Flemish Institute Imec and the Walloon Cenaero Research Center collaborate closely in the technical development of the project,” said the Minister.
If the project is retained, the cost of the Belgian AIF is estimated at 80 million euros, half of which would be subsidized by Europe. A decision is expected for September 2025.
