FILE PHOTO: Illustration picture of semiconductor chips on a circuit board · Reuters
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Computer chip makers and semiconductor supply chain firms on Wednesday called on the European Commission to launch a new support program as a follow up to the 2023 Chips Act, this time focusing on chip design, materials and equipment, in addition to manufacturing.
Following a meeting with top sector firms and European lawmakers in Brussels, industry groups ESIA, representing chipmakers, and SEMI Europe, representing the broader industry, said they would send their plea for a 'Chips Act 2.0' to Commission digital chief Henna Virkkunen.
A new program should "decisively support semiconductor design and manufacturing, R&D, materials and equipment," SEMI said in a statement.
Among more than a dozen firms represented at the meeting were chipmakers NXP , STMicroelectronics, Infineon and Bosch, equipment makers ASML and ASM, Zeiss and Air Liquide.
The Commission has yet to detail its plans for the semiconductor industry, though it has said it intends to launch five packages this year spurring European investment, notably in AI.
The first EU chips act prompted a wave of investment in manufacturing, but failed to attract cutting-edge chipmakers or address the rest of the supply chain. Most funding was provided by member states, yet projects needed EU approval -- a model criticized as too slow. Still European firms say it provided a counterweight to larger state support programs in the U.S. and China.
Last week a group of nine European countries said they would form their own coalition alongside the Commission to strengthen Europe's chip industry.
In November, ESIA chief Rene Schroeder told Reuters a Chips Act 2.0 would need to consider how to defend European chipmakers' leading position in "legacy and foundational" chips such as sensors, power chips and microcontrollers, an area where China is rapidly expanding.
Representatives of three major factions in the European Parliament hosted the Brussels meeting.