In order to reduce dependence on Asian chips and grasp the lifeline of future industrial development, both the U.S. and the EU are trying to “manufacture their own chips”. The CEOs of Intel and Qualcomm, among other major semiconductor companies, have jointly called on President Biden to support the domestic production of chips, while the EU is rumored to be considering the construction of an advanced semiconductor plant in Europe, hoping to produce its own semiconductors below the 10nm process.
The Semiconductor Institute of America (SIA) sent a letter to Biden on November 11, urging him to include in his stimulus package “large financial incentives for semiconductor manufacturing in the form of grants or tax incentives” to support the production of wafers in the United States and to stop the continued loss of innovative competitiveness. The letter was signed by corporate CEOs including Intel’s Swan, Qualcomm’s Moran Cove, and Supermicro’s Suzie Fung.
The letter also highlights that the U.S. chip manufacturing share has declined from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent today, and that “our technology leadership is at risk in this fierce race for the future of technology, including artificial intelligence, 5G/6G, and quantum computing.
Bloomberg also reported that the EU is considering building an advanced semiconductor plant in Europe to reduce the dependence on the United States and Asia for core technologies in important industries.
Sources close to the matter said the EU is exploring how to produce its own semiconductors below the 10-nanometer process, with the ultimate goal of producing 2-nanometer process chips, in the hope that the development of 5G wireless systems, connected cars, high-performance computing and other areas, to reduce dependence on chips from Taiwan and other places.
The sources said that the people leading the European plan to boost wafer production capacity include EU executive committee member in charge of industrial affairs Breton (Thierry Breton), and the relevant plan may be the reconstruction of the original fab, or to build new plants, but has not yet made a resolution, the implementation schedule has not been finalized.
The EU has outlined a goal last year, hoping to global chip and microprocessor sales, Europe can produce at least 20%. The EU executive committee said that in order to achieve the goal, it will organize a European microelectronics technology alliance, possible members include major European chip makers, car factories and telecommunications companies. Sources said the EU is expected to formally announce the establishment of the alliance at the end of March.
Europe used to be a major semiconductor factory, but the past 20 years has significantly reduced the production business, NXP (NXP), Infineon (Infineon) and other automotive chip design companies have outsourced most of the production operations to TSMC and other wafer foundry industry players.
However, Bloomberg pointed out that the EU’s plan to revive the advanced chip manufacturing business may be too small in scale and too late; mainland China, Japan and the United States are trying to increase their chip self-sufficiency rate, but the gap between the industry leaders such as Samsung Electronics and TSMC continues to widen.
The EU’s plans come at a Time when Europe’s largest automakers, such as Fuchs and Daimler, are suffering from a shortage of chips. Although the shortage of chips may only cause a temporary impact, it still highlights Europe’s high dependence on foreign countries for key technologies.
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