EU approves 8 billion euros in state subsidies for chip research

SEMICONDUCTOR research projects with 8 billion euros (S$11.5 billion) in public funds were approved by the European Union’s executive arm as part of a push to increase the bloc’s domestic chip-supply chain. 

The projects are backed by a total of 13.7 billion euros in private funding, amounting to about 22 billion euros, the European Commission announced on Thursday (Jun 8). It said a total of 68 Important Projects of Common European Interest – or IPCEI – have been given the go ahead from 56 companies in 19 countries, including Norway. 

“Europe is taking its destiny into its own hands,” Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote on a blog post. “By mastering the most advanced semiconductors, EU will become an industrial powerhouse in markets of the future.”

The commission proposed the EU’s Chips Act in early 2021, setting an ambitious goal to produce 20 per cent of the world’s semiconductors by 2030. These IPCEI projects form one component of that plan, which also opened the door for governments to provide funds for production facilities. 

So far, companies like Intel Corp, Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics, GlobalFoundries and Wolfspeed have all announced new investments. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is also looking at building a production site in Germany. 

Some businesses, however, have been critical of the timeframe it took to get the IPCEI projects approved. BLOOMBERG