Semiconductor research projects with 8 billion euros (US$8.6 billion) in public funds on Thursday were approved by the EU’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 said.
Sixty-eight Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) have been given the go-ahead from 56 companies in 19 countries, including Norway, the commission said.
“Europe is taking its destiny into its own hands,” EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote in a blog post. “By mastering the most advanced semiconductors, [the] EU will become an industrial powerhouse in markets of the future.”
The commission proposed the EU’s Chips Act early last year, setting an ambitious goal to produce 20 percent of the world’s semiconductors by 2030.
The IPCEI projects form one component of that plan, which also opened the door for governments to provide funds for production facilities.
So far, companies such as Intel Corp, Infineon Technologies AG, STMicroelectronics NV, GlobalFoundries Inc and Wolfspeed Inc have announced new investments.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) is also looking to build a production site in Germany.
However, some businesses have been critical of the timeframe it took to get the IPCEI projects approved.
German Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck praised the decision, saying that Germany has 31 projects in 11 regions.
“We can thus increase resilience across Europe in this important field, and secure value creation and jobs,” Habeck said in a news release.
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