Germany wants to continue to ramp up in the production of electronic components. The German effort is part of a European ambition to enable the Old Continent to reduce its dependence on Asia.
Germany wants more. Already chosen by Intel to build a mega-factory of electronic components as part of an investment of 17 billion euros, our neighbors across the Rhine want to attract other manufacturers in the sector. In this sense, the government has decided to allocate an envelope of 14 billion euros, indicated the Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck. “We must develop our own strategy to secure raw materials”did he declare.
The German effort is part of a European ambition to enable the Old Continent to reduce its dependence on Asia, which currently accounts for 80% of the world’s production of electronic chips. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, presented the Chips Act in early February, a 42 billion euro plan to increase the EU’s share of global semiconductor production to 20% by 2030. , compared to less than 10% today. 30 years ago, Europe produced 40% of the electronic chips in the world.
Europe makes soft eyes at Intel and others
To return to the front of the stage in a critical sector which has experienced an unprecedented global shortage since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brussels has in particular planned to mobilize 30 billion euros in public aid as part of the plan. European recovery plan, which the Member States will grant to major industrialists in the sector capable of creating mega-factories. A way for the European executive to respond favorably to Pat Gelsinger, the boss of Intel, who had indicated that the construction of a giant factory of electronic chips in Europe would require 8 billion euros in public subsidies.
In Germany, the American founder has chosen to settle in Magdeburg, the capital of land of Saxony-Anhalt, 130 km west of Berlin. The construction of the first two production units should begin in the first half of 2023 before commissioning scheduled for 2027. Intel has specified that 7,000 jobs will be created for the construction of this plant and 3,000 to operate it. As for France, failing to host a mega-factory, it will host a European research and development center for the American firm on the Saclay plateau, with 1,000 jobs at stake, including 400 by the end of 2024.
From now on, the challenge for European countries, Germany in the lead, is to attract other giants in the sector, such as the Taiwanese group TSMC and the South Korean Samsung. And this, while the global semiconductor market should double by 2030 and weigh 1000 billion dollars. This therefore means that Europe will have to quadruple its own production to reach 20% on a global scale.