Europe finalizes €43B Chips Act it hopes will help free it from foreign fabs
(2023/04/19)
- Reference: 1681885692
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/04/19/eu_chips_bill/
- Source link:
The European Union has finalized a €43 billion bid to bolster domestic semiconductor production.
In a Tuesday [1]statement , the European Commission said it has reached a provisional agreement on the terms of the European Chips Act, which seeks to double the EU's market share in semiconductor development, manufacturing, and material supply chains from 10 to 20 percent by the end of the decade.
"The new rules represent a real revolution for Europe in the key sector of semiconductors. A swift implementation of today's agreement will transform our dependency into market leadership; our vulnerability into sovereignty; our expenditure into investment," stated Ebba Busch, Swedish minister for energy, business, and industry.
[2]
The European Commission will use three tactics to achieve its goals. One is the Chips for Europe Initiative which gives funding to support the large-scale build out of semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the EU. The initiative has been hotly anticipated by chipmakers as they've plotted expansions throughout Europe.
[3]
[4]
The second and third initiatives will focus on supply chain security. Specifically, alleviating the region's reliance on foreign fabs.
"Currently, Europe is too dependent on chips produced abroad, which became more evident during the COVID crisis," the EC's statement reads.
[5]
The two provisions aim to directly address those concerns by both building European fabs and establishing local supply chain to feed those fabs with the components and materials necessary they need to function. To this end, the European Commission will see the creation of a monitoring and crisis response system to "anticipate supply shortages and provide responses in case of crisis."
[6]China the largest buyer of chipmaking machines as sales hit an all-time high
[7]Arm, Intel make it easier to churn out Arm SoCs from Intel fabs
[8]Why we think Intel may be gearing up to push its GPU Max chips into China
[9]TSMC wants to cash its US CHIPS but seems unhappy with the red tape
Following negotiations, the EC has moved to widen the scope of "first-of-a-kind" facilities to include those producing equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing. This is notable, as while semiconductor manufacturing is an intensely capex-heavy endeavor, the process relies on a wide variety of technologies ranging from electronic design automation (EDA) software to the multi-million dollar lithography machines used to etch microscopic features into silicon wafers.
As demonstrated by the US-China trade dispute, the supply chains for those technologies remain [10]vulnerable to geopolitical interference. For instance, the US has successfully cut off Chinese chipmakers from American, Dutch, and Japanese lithography machines.
In this regard, Europe has something of an advantage over China as its home not only to ASML, the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, and to Germany's Siemens which develops EDA software used in the designs of integrated circuits among other chips-related products. Both firms appear to be eligible for funding under the European Chips Act.
While negotiations between the European Commission and Parliament may be complete, a bit more red tape needs to be cut before the act can be adopted. However, once signed, the Council can amend the Single Basic Act to establish the Chips Joint Undertaking, which will make as much as €43 billion in funding available to subsidize chips projects in the region. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/04/18/chips-act-council-and-european-parliament-strike-provisional-deal/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/14/semiconductor_manufacturing_gear_sales/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/12/arm_and_intel_fab_deal/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/11/intel_gpu_china/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/11/tsmc_chips_act/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/18/us_blacklist_spells_trouble/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
In a Tuesday [1]statement , the European Commission said it has reached a provisional agreement on the terms of the European Chips Act, which seeks to double the EU's market share in semiconductor development, manufacturing, and material supply chains from 10 to 20 percent by the end of the decade.
"The new rules represent a real revolution for Europe in the key sector of semiconductors. A swift implementation of today's agreement will transform our dependency into market leadership; our vulnerability into sovereignty; our expenditure into investment," stated Ebba Busch, Swedish minister for energy, business, and industry.
[2]
The European Commission will use three tactics to achieve its goals. One is the Chips for Europe Initiative which gives funding to support the large-scale build out of semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the EU. The initiative has been hotly anticipated by chipmakers as they've plotted expansions throughout Europe.
[3]
[4]
The second and third initiatives will focus on supply chain security. Specifically, alleviating the region's reliance on foreign fabs.
"Currently, Europe is too dependent on chips produced abroad, which became more evident during the COVID crisis," the EC's statement reads.
[5]
The two provisions aim to directly address those concerns by both building European fabs and establishing local supply chain to feed those fabs with the components and materials necessary they need to function. To this end, the European Commission will see the creation of a monitoring and crisis response system to "anticipate supply shortages and provide responses in case of crisis."
[6]China the largest buyer of chipmaking machines as sales hit an all-time high
[7]Arm, Intel make it easier to churn out Arm SoCs from Intel fabs
[8]Why we think Intel may be gearing up to push its GPU Max chips into China
[9]TSMC wants to cash its US CHIPS but seems unhappy with the red tape
Following negotiations, the EC has moved to widen the scope of "first-of-a-kind" facilities to include those producing equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing. This is notable, as while semiconductor manufacturing is an intensely capex-heavy endeavor, the process relies on a wide variety of technologies ranging from electronic design automation (EDA) software to the multi-million dollar lithography machines used to etch microscopic features into silicon wafers.
As demonstrated by the US-China trade dispute, the supply chains for those technologies remain [10]vulnerable to geopolitical interference. For instance, the US has successfully cut off Chinese chipmakers from American, Dutch, and Japanese lithography machines.
In this regard, Europe has something of an advantage over China as its home not only to ASML, the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, and to Germany's Siemens which develops EDA software used in the designs of integrated circuits among other chips-related products. Both firms appear to be eligible for funding under the European Chips Act.
While negotiations between the European Commission and Parliament may be complete, a bit more red tape needs to be cut before the act can be adopted. However, once signed, the Council can amend the Single Basic Act to establish the Chips Joint Undertaking, which will make as much as €43 billion in funding available to subsidize chips projects in the region. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/04/18/chips-act-council-and-european-parliament-strike-provisional-deal/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZD@7xaccVtVyhmFu5Bm-EwAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/14/semiconductor_manufacturing_gear_sales/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/12/arm_and_intel_fab_deal/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/11/intel_gpu_china/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/11/tsmc_chips_act/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/18/us_blacklist_spells_trouble/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: another bite in the buttocks
m4r35n357
Well we kicked out Inmos & ARM, I'm not sure there is much else we _could_ have done.
Re: another bite in the buttocks
werdsmith
No political party of any substance is standing with restoring manufacturing of essential products as a proposed policy.
So it probably isn’t a voter priority. Don’t know how it is possible to change that.
Maybe people know more about it than we do and it isn’t that important.
Dunno. It’s a mystery to me.
A drop in the bucket
imanidiot
While it is most certainly a lot of money, it doesn't even begin to cover a single new high end 300mm fab. It's unlikely to entice any chip baker to put a fab in Europe.
Re: A drop in the bucket
42656e4d203239
>It's unlikely to entice any chip baker to put a fab in Europe.
dunno about that - I think Germany has attracted Intel.. or did I read that Intel are pulling out of that deal despitre the massive tax bonuses offered to them to establish a fab?
another bite in the buttocks
Just as well we are part of... no wait...
So how _does_ the UK come up with a reasonable strategy to ensure OUR chip supplies don't rely on the Far East and are less vulnerable to geopolitical machinations over which we have little, or no, influence?
I think I may have it - make sure we don't actually manufacture anything here, a policy espoused by all governments since the late 1970s... I am sure there is a flaw in that somewhere but I can't see what it might be...
/s in case anyone didn't pick up on it