Global chip manufacturing restructuring? Europe also wants "chip independence"

The European Union, which is not willing to lag behind the world semiconductor competition, has made ambitious plans for its semiconductor R & D and manufacturing.

On July 19, the European Commission launched two new industry alliances-the processor and Semiconductor Technology Alliance, and the European Industrial Cloud / Edge Computing Alliance.

The two alliances aim to promote the EU's next-generation chip and industrial cloud / edge computing technologies, help the EU build the critical infrastructure of its digital economy, and reduce the risk of semiconductor supply chain disruptions and geopolitics.

In addition, the European Commission has set a goal of doubling its global chip market share by 2030.

Policymakers say changing this situation will require years of efforts and large amounts of public money from the EU, while Asia and the US are investing huge subsidies in semiconductors every year.

Although Europe has first-class strength in many aspects of the semiconductor supply chain, such as lithography, it still lags behind Asia and the United States in the manufacturing and research and development of high-end chips.

Compared with Intel, Samsung, TSMC and other leading manufacturers in the semiconductor industry, European semiconductors currently account for less than 10% of the global market.

TSMC has begun to build wafer plants for the planned production of 3nm chips. By contrast, few wafer factories in Europe can produce chips with a process of less than 22 nanometers.

In the field of semiconductors, European companies usually compete with Asian and American companies in misplaced competition.

Europe lags behind in chip manufacturing such as high-end computers and mobile phones. Leading semiconductor companies in the European market, such as Infineon in Germany, NXP in the Netherlands, and Italian and French Semiconductors, focus on providing chips for automotive, aerospace, industrial automation and other industries.