European Chips Act

02/21/2022

On February 8, 2022, the European Commission proposed the European Chips Act. With up to 43 billion euros, the EU Commission thus intends to support the expansion of the semiconductor industry in Europe. The proposal aims to mobilize public and private investment to help European industry prevent, prepare for and anticipate future disruptions to the semiconductor supply chain.

The Brussels bill, which still requires approval from the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, includes funding for research, development, innovative start-ups and pilot projects. It also aims to create production capacity in energy-efficient chips with higher transistor density. In addition, the regulations for state aid of the EU member states will be relaxed, and the EU Commission would like to centrally monitor the value chain in the individual member states in the future and be able to intervene in the market in the event of crises.

The background to the push, which was made in a rush, is the still persistent bottlenecks in semiconductors, which temporarily paralyzed entire car plants in Europe last year. During the pandemic-related lockdowns, manufacturers of high-demand electronics products had bought out the chip market. When the auto industry tried to ramp up production in the post-Corona boom, there were massive supply problems for key precursors. Semiconductors are largely made in China, South Korea and Japan - cheaply thanks to government subsidies.

European Chips Survey

To help the Commission provide this public support, a special European Chips Survey has been launched to help shape and direct financial and non-financial support. If you are an organization/company involved in semiconductor manufacturing or purchasing finished/packaged semiconductor products (e.g., from wholesalers), please participate in the survey to ensure that the needs of the industry as a whole are adequately represented and can be properly addressed. All information collected is strictly confidential and will not be shared with third parties. The deadline for responding to the survey is March 20, 2022.

Here you can access the survey .

For more information on the European Chips Act, the Alliance for Processor and Semiconductor Technologies, and the European Industrial Strategy  see here .

Source: European Commission