EU states and lawmakers clinched a deal on Tuesday to expand Europe’s clean tech production, from solar and wind to carbon capture, as the bloc faces off with China and the US.
Brussels wants to reduce its reliance on China and make Europe more attractive for investment after the US unleashed a US$369 billion bonanza of clean technology subsidies last year.
The EU announced the plans last year, spurred by concerns the US program, which includes tax credits, would lure European manufacturers away.
Photo: Reuters
Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency, announced that negotiators had reached a provisional agreement. The European Commission wants at least 40 percent of green tech used in the EU to be produced in the bloc by 2030.
The law lists “strategic” technologies including nuclear energy as well as renewable energies like solar and wind.
The 40 percent target features in plans for a Net-Zero Industry Act to support the EU’s bid to become a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.
Under the law, public tenders would be weighed on criteria that could favor European companies, to counter similar moves by Beijing and Washington. The draft also seeks to make sure businesses can obtain permits faster. It is to enter into force after formal approval by EU states and the parliament.
“The most important thing is just to bring investment back to Europe and create a level playing field,” Solar First Inc’s European business chief Anja Lange said.
Access to clean tech — and avoiding an overreliance on imported technology — is a major source of concern in Europe, and many fear the draft law alone might not be enough to change the equation.
China dominates the solar power industry, and Europe’s solar panel manufacturers have made repeated pleas for help from Brussels, accusing Beijing of not playing fairly.
Last year, the EU opened a probe into Chinese electric car subsidies, and there are hopes among some in the industry that it will launch another investigation into Chinese solar panels.
However, European Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness tamped down any such hopes on Monday, saying the bloc must carefully consider the impact of its actions.
“Any potential measure needs to be weighed against the objectives we have set ourselves when it comes to the energy transition,” she told lawmakers in Strasbourg.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
RSS