The Critical Materials Council (CMC) of Semiconductor Fabricators met in Munich at SEMICON Europa in November 2022, to discuss supply chain issues that were still plaguing the industry since 2020. One key theme was the EU Chips Act and the funding to help build and strengthen the European semiconductor industry.
This has been of major concern because the materials supply chain upon which the European chip fabricators rely has been dwindling over the past decade – and without local materials, European chip manufacturing will be at continued risk of supply interruption.
There was universal interest in having the European Commission (EC) include support for the materials supply chain and mature technology node fabs into the EU Chips Act.
Semiconductors are essential to virtually all sectors of the economy – including aerospace, automobiles, IoT (Internet of Things), information technology, medical devices, and clean energy. In 2021, the demand for chips outstripped supply, leading to extreme strain and shortages of materials needed to produce these chips. The lack of increased materials production in Europe will slow down and interrupt chip expansions from happening.
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