Europe gives the green light to support for semiconductor production

Last September, Ursula von del Leyen, president of the European Commission, spoke in a speech about the importance of semiconductor procurement in an increasingly digitalized world, presenting the so-called "Chips Act", which will aim to make the region self-sufficient. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said at the time that the Chips Act would consist of three elements. The first concerns the field of semiconductor research, which will involve various large European institutes, such as IMEC in Belgium, LETI / CEA in France and Fraunhofer in Germany. The second involves the creation of a collective European plan which aims to improve production capacity and, finally, the third aims to establish a framework for international partnerships and cooperations.

credit: unsplash.com Obviously, some will be needed. time before the full activation of such a massive plan, but, yesterday, Thursday 18 November, the EU executive said that, considering the exceptional situation, the Commission can envisage the approval of subsidies to fill potential funding gaps . After all, semiconductors have become very important in many fields, including the automotive one, and Europe is ready to do everything necessary to decrease dependence on other world players. As stated by Breton, "it is urgent to equip Europe with a productive sector that is up to par. It makes no sense to bet on a division of labor in which Europe would limit itself to chips above 20 nanometers, while the United States and Asia would supply chips below 5 nanometers - the true market of the future. " Chancellor Angela Merkel also said in a statement that "competitive chip production is impossible without state subsidies."

credit: unsplash.com One of the companies that will benefit from these subsidies will be Intel, which has already expressed its intention to open a new factory in Europe. At the moment, the company is examining all the possibilities, but one of the most accredited hypotheses sees the production entrusted to Germany, the research to France and the packaging to Italy.