SMWA: Economics Minister Panter welcomes plans for a European Chips Act 2.0

“The European Chips Act of 2023 has made a significant contribution to raising awareness of Europe as a semiconductor location and triggering investment along the value chain. Saxony has particularly benefited from this development. The European regulatory and funding framework has made the state’s existing strengths more visible and helped Saxony to further expand its role as Europe’s leading microelectronics location. The combination of internationally competitive production, excellent research and a strong industrial environment makes the Free State a central pillar of the European semiconductor industry today,” said Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs Dirk Panter.

“Saxony is the most efficient semiconductor location in Europe today. Our strength lies not only in the unique density of production facilities of different companies, but is also based on the interplay of research, development, production and industrial application. This ecosystem has grown over decades and makes Saxony an indispensable building block of European technology policy,” continued Panter. 

With the announced Chips Act 2.0, a stronger focus on the demand side of the semiconductor industry is now emerging. In future, innovative European chip developers and start-ups will have easier access to markets. At the same time, new production steps along the entire value chain are to be promoted, approval procedures accelerated and the industrial scaling of new technologies supported. However, it remains to be seen how Europe intends to build up its own capabilities in the field of cutting-edge leading edge technologies in the future. From the Free State’s perspective, this opens up opportunities for Europe that Saxony would like to take advantage of.

“The next step in European semiconductor policy must not end at the factory floor. It is crucial that innovations find their way into industrial applications. Europe not only needs more production capacities, but also resilient semiconductor ecosystems. This is precisely where Saxony can contribute its particular strengths,” emphasizes Panter.

The Free State will therefore advocate to the federal government and the European Union that the further development of the Chip Act takes into account the entire value chain and is practical – from research and chip design to pilot and series production and industrial applications in areas such as the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, energy technology and digitalization. This also includes a clear European strategy for the development of leading edge capacities. Saxony is the logical location for this: This is where industrial manufacturing experience, efficient suppliers, plant and maintenance expertise and research excellence come together.

At the same time, reliable framework conditions for investment in Europe are still needed: “If you want to strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty, you need long-term assertiveness. This includes competitive energy prices, faster approval procedures, targeted measures to secure skilled workers, strong research institutions and a reliable European industrial policy. Saxony will work to ensure that the Chips Act 2.0 fulfils precisely these requirements,” says Panter.

The Minister of Economic Affairs sees the announced European project as an opportunity to continue the successful development of Saxony as a semiconductor location and to sustainably strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and resilience in a key industry: “Europe will only be successful in global competition if we add more speed and capital mobilization to our technical expertise and industrial strength. Only with scaling and further innovation do we have a chance of not falling behind. Saxony is ready to contribute its expertise and capacities to the next phase of European semiconductor development in every sector,” concluded Panter.

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Further links

👉 www.smwa.sachsen.de  

Photo: SMWA