The EU has reached an agreement for its Chips Act, reports European Commissioner Thierry Breton. This will free up 43 billion euros in investments for the European chip sector. The arrival of the European Chips Act has been discussed in the EU for some time.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton reports on Tuesday that the EU has officially reached a deal on the European chip law. Since Tuesday morning, the European Commission has been negotiating with EU member states and legislators on the final details of the Chips Act, which should release billions in subsidies for the chip sector. Broader negotiations have already taken place with European member states and the European Parliament.
The European Chips Act was already proposed by the European Commission in 2022 , after the EU had already shared ambitions about strengthening its chip sector in the years before. As part of the Chips Act, the EU hopes to double its global market share in chip production to 20 percent by 2030. Europe wants to become less dependent on other regions. The region wants this because of rising geopolitical tensions, for example between the US and China.
EU member states and the EU itself are making a total of 43 billion euros available for the chip sector. That money is used, among other things, as a subsidy for the construction of chip factories in Europe. Several companies have already claimed this. Intel, among others, plans to build a chip factory in Germany and wants a subsidy for this. Market leader TSMC is also rumored to be close to an agreement to build a German chip factory near Dresden .
Initially, the Chips Act was mainly aimed at the production of advanced chips. The European Commission spoke in its first proposal about the production of ‘sub-2nm’ chips. The law has since been extended to also release funding for the entire semiconductor value chain, including the production of older chips and the construction of R&D centers around semiconductors. Tweakers previously published background stories about Europe’s chip ambitions and the European Chips Act that should make them possible.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden introduced a similar chip law , which frees up tens of billions for the construction of new chip factories within the United States. Other countries, including South Korea, Japan and China, are also investing in strengthening their native chip sectors.
