Current Report No.: 29/2024

Management Board of VIGO Photonics S.A. ("Company", "Issuer") informs that it has received information about the inclusion of the Issuer's project entitled "Integrated Photonics Systems for Free-Space Optical Communication (FSOC)" ("Project") on the list of projects selected for funding under the Priority "Support for Entrepreneurs – European Funds for a Modern Economy 2021-2027". The project will be carried out by a scientific-industrial consortium, led by VIGO Photonics. The consortium members are the Warsaw University of Technology (Institute of Microelectronics and Optoelectronics and the Center for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT) and the Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics of the Łukasiewicz Research Network.

The total amount of eligible costs for the Project is PLN 25,000,187.50, while the funding amount is PLN 21,451,628.08, which constitutes 85.81% of the total eligible costs to be covered by the support. The eligible costs for the Issuer amount to PLN 12,500,187.50, and the funding for the Company amounts to PLN 8,951,628.08.

The duration of the Project and the funding period is 36 months. The implementation of the Project will start on 01.01.2025.

The main objective of the Project is to develop and comprehensively investigate new solutions for free-space optical communication (FSOC) systems, based on integrated photonics solutions. The industrial research and development work will involve the design and manufacturing of integrated, multi-channel transmit and receive modules, equipped with control electronics, optical beam-forming systems, and positioning systems. The project will also involve the development of technology demonstrators for free-space communication systems operating in different spectral ranges, i.e. the classical near-infrared (NIR) range for fiber-optic telecommunications at 1550 nm, as well as the more attractive mid-infrared (MIR) range for free-space communication, covering two sub-bands – 4-6 μm and 8-12 μm. The scope of the project includes, in particular, the design, manufacturing, and testing of integrated multi-channel transmit and receive modules for the FSOC system in both NIR and MIR ranges. Planned activities will lead to the development of compatible QCL lasers and detectors with operating frequencies above 2.5 GHz, as well as prototype ICL laser modules, which have not been produced in Poland before.

In light of the value of the obtained funding, the Issuer assesses that it will have significant importance for the financial situation, strategy implementation, and development prospects of the Issuer.

The implementation of the Project is a continuation of the assumptions outlined in the Company’s Strategy for the years 2021-2026, which the Issuer informed about in Current Report No. 12/2021 on June 16, 2021.

Legal basis: Article 17(1) of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of April 16, 2014, on market abuse (Market Abuse Regulation), and repealing Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and the Council and Commission Directives 2003/124/EC, 2003/125/EC, and 2004/72/EC ("MAR Regulation").