EC proposes Chips Act to strengthen EU’s tech sovereignty
| The EC has proposed a package of measures under the umbrella term ‘European Chips Act’ ‘to ensure the EU’s security of supply, resilience, and technological leadership in semiconductor technologies and applications’. The package’s overall aim is to enable the EU to reach 20% of the global chips market share (to double today’s roughly 10%). The package contains a proposal for a new regulation, a communication statement outlining a European chips strategy, and a recommendation for member states. The package outlines five key goals. |
Image source: European Commission
| Actions to achieve these goals include:
– A Chips for Europe Initiative to support technological capacity building and innovation in the development and deployment of cutting-edge and next-generation semiconductor and quantum technologies. – To implement the initiative, a public-private European Chips Infrastructure Consortium and a network of semiconductor competence centres will be established. – A framework to ensure the security of chips supply by supporting and attracting investments in large-scale production capacities. In particular, public support is envisioned for open EU foundries – facilities focused mostly on producing chips for other industrial players, and integrated production facilities – dedicated to designing and producing chips for their own markets. – A coordination mechanism between member states and the EC to monitor and mitigate supply chain disruptions and increase resilience. – Partnerships with like-minded countries and regions (e.g. the USA, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan) to cooperate on initiatives of mutual interest and commitments to ensure chip supply continuity in times of crisis. It is envisioned that over €43 billion of public and private investments will be mobilised in support of the proposed measures by 2030. |
