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Analysis
The EU Chips Act, act 2: a pivot to European strengths?
Reading time: 4 minutes
The new European Commission taking office is likely to pay more attention to the needs of Europe’s indigenous chipmakers, but it won’t throw out expensive technological sovereignty ambitions such as establishing domestic leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing operations.
A follow-up of the EU Chips Act should focus on mature semiconductors as well as advanced nodes, the European Semiconductor Industry Association posits following the appointment of a new tech policy commissioner, Henna Virkkunen. “Esia strongly recommends expanding the focus to the key strengths of the semiconductor industry in Europe and making foundational technologies (eg microcontrollers, power semiconductors and sensors), where the EU is highly innovative and has a world-leading position, a key priority,” the industry body writes in a statement.
Europe’s major semiconductor manufacturers Infineon, NXP and STMicroelectronics all primarily focus on automotive and industrial chips, which utilize older process technologies. It’s expected that these companies will face increasing competition from Chinese firms, which – partially motivated by export curbs on more advanced technologies – have been building up capacity in this application space.
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