Panel: Fostering Industry Engagement in the Chips Act

Abstract

On February 8^th, 2022, the European Commission announced the Chips Act, an ambitious plan to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in the EU, with 3 pillars :

• the establishment of the Chips for Europe Initiative, aimed at reinforcing Europe's technological leadership, by facilitating the transfer of knowledge from the lab to the fab,
• the creation of a framework for Integrated Production Facilities and Open EU Foundries that are “first-of-a-kind” in the Union and contribute to the security of supply and to a resilient ecosystem, to attract investment,
• a mechanism to prevent and manage supply chain crisis.

The Chips Act entered into force on September 21st, 2023, after the completion of a legislative process. Even before that date, several major investments in Chips manufacturing in Europe were announced.

While European and national funds are mobilised, most of the required money will come from private companies. It is therefore essential that the various instruments provided by the Chips Act are fit for the purpose of attracting private investment. In this panel, a representative from the European Commission involved in the design of the Chips Act, and representatives from several large companies and RTOs in semiconductor design automation and manufacturing, with significant plans for investment in Europe, will discuss what the Chips Act brings to the table, and what can be done to further ensure that it will achieve its ambitions.

Panelists

Moderator: Patrick Cogez (AENEAS, F)

Marco Ceccarelli (European Commission, BE)
Christoph Heer (TSMC, NL)
Thomas Heurung (Siemens EDA, D)
Fiona Moclair (Intel, IE)
Ina Sebastian (Infineon Technologies, D)
Pascal Vivet (CEA-LETI, F)