The global shortage of microchips has hastened plans. According to the background study seen by HS, the EU is strong in, for example, microcircuit research and development, but there are gaps in the design and ability of more advanced microcircuits to move from research to commercial innovation.
Brussels
European Union wants to reduce its dependence on microchips made outside the EU and will therefore announce on Tuesday ambitious plans to increase the design and manufacture of microchips in Europe.
The main means is to set up a public fund focusing on semiconductors, the size of which would be According to Politico EUR 11 billion. The aim is to involve private capital as well.
The goal is to increase not only design but also the manufacture of microcircuits in Europe, which is a long way to go. There are only a few companies in the world that manufacture the most advanced microchips with the smallest line width. Production conditions are demanding.
Plans to invest in the semiconductor industry have been pending for a long time, as promised by the President of the Commission. Ursula von der Leyen in his speech last autumn on the state of the Union.
Read more: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Europe to produce its own chip production in its annual speech
About microchips there has been a shortage since last year, partly due to increased demand for electronics during the pandemic and telecommuting. In the automotive industry, which is important for Europe, for example, production has stagnated due to a shortage of chips.
The EU has been particularly concerned that much of the microcircuits used in Europe come from Taiwan and China.
Taiwan produces about half of the world’s semiconductors and about 95 percent of the most advanced microcircuits.
The position of the island state is unstable, as there is always occasional speculation about the possibility that China would want to attach it to itself.
China has also invested heavily in its own chip industry. China is feared to use microchips as an instrument of trade policy.
In Europe, the Netherlands and Belgium are at the forefront of microcircuit design and manufacturing. Production is also in France, Italy and Austria. The leading European companies in the sector are the German Infineon Technologies, the Dutch NXP and the Italian-French ST Microelectronics.
HS: n According to the Commission’s background study, the EU is strong in research and development of integrated circuits and in the manufacture of production-related equipment, but there are shortcomings, especially in the design and production of more advanced integrated circuits.
According to the study, Europe lacks the capacity to move from research and development to commercial innovation.
Read more: Chip manufacturers threw overtime for a long time to come, and next will be the chip design business model
Public in addition to the aid, the commission intends to monitor the market situation in microcircuits more closely. In the event of disruption of access, the Commission would have a mechanism in place to secure access to microcircuits, especially in critical areas.
This could also be accompanied by restrictions on the export of microcircuits outside the EU in the event of disruption.
The plan also includes cooperation with “like-minded” states, meaning the United States, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Cooperation would cover, among other things, improving crisis preparedness.
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