The European Union will invest 100 billion euros in its semiconductor manufacturing policy in order to become independent in this area, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said on Thursday, reports AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
In relation to the strategy set out in the Chips Act, which aims to increase chip production in the European Union to 20% of global production capacity by 2030, “investments worth more than €100 billion are currently planned across Europe,” the French commissioner told RTL. “Yes, we will reach our goal, and maybe even ahead of schedule,” added Thierry Breton.
“Today we have more than 68 projects in 19 countries that will allow us to regain our competitiveness but also our strategic autonomy,” said Breton, former CEO of French IT group Atos.
So far, around €43 billion worth of subsidies have been allocated under the Chips Act, a strategy adopted this year by the European Commission.
The new estimate comes two days after Taiwanese group TSMC announced it will invest €3.5 billion to build its first chip plant in Europe in Dresden, eastern Germany.
Like Asia and USA, the European Union is engaged in a global competition for autonomy in the crucial sector of semiconductors, which are now included in most everyday objects such as vehicles, smart phones or connected objects
“We are in competition, we are in competition with Asia, with the US. We can no longer be naive and say that in the end the free market matters. We also need to support these investments which are very large,” Thierry Breton stressed.
The European Union’s priority is local chip production after the pandemic led to disruptions in supply chains, causing severe shortages of components. Asia, particularly firms from China and Taiwan, currently dominate semiconductor production and exports.
