Executive Summary
In today's world, semiconductors have become essential components of virtually all aspects of our daily lives, so much so that the business of producing semiconductors is of key strategic importance to all major regions. Two notable disruptions make it imperative for Europe to act to make electronics value chains fit for the future, to continue to fuel innovation in key sectors of our economy, and create new products, new jobs and new industries:
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The emergence of artificial intelligence, its impact on how data will be processed, analysed and shared is redefining the way data will impact our lives. We are entering an era of connected intelligence that will make new demands on semiconductor technology at all levels of the supply chain.
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At the same time, the growing strategic importance of semiconductor components, coupled with the massive investments in very advanced know-how and technology needed to produce them, has made them the object of a rapid succession of mergers and acquisitions, and escalating levels of government support.
As representatives and major actors of the semiconductor sector in Europe, we are putting forward an ambitious proposal which aims at delivering digital technologies essential to the future prosperity of the European economy and European industry. We believe that the digital transformation to which Europe is committed needs technology that is trusted, secure, energy-efficient and accessible. Our industry is investing heavily both in research and innovation, and in manufacturing, with more than €50 billion planned up until 2025, to make this a reality.
This report sets out our proposal to combine strengths and resources at European and national levels, in partnerships that reinforce the industry's capacity to deliver highly innovative digital technologies and components to essential sectors of the economy, amongst others in automotive, logistics, energy, communications, aerospace, defence and security.
Our capacity to deliver requires first and foremost a strong electronics value chain, from materials and equipment, through design, chip production and systems integration, to end-product. To this end these partnerships will cover the full research and innovation value chain. We will also seize new opportunities to close the gap with leading regions in the world, by aligning our efforts towards developing the next generation of advanced computing technologies. We call for recognition of the importance of such efforts in addressing Europe's societal challenges, from electrification and automation of cars, to digitalisation of the power grid and industry, as well as European sovereignty needs.
Transforming ideas into products calls for design. The proposal includes a call for specific support to catalyse the industry's efforts in design of components and solutions in order to facilitate access to design by SMEs and shorten innovation cycles along value chains in essential sectors. The creation of a task force is also called for to address the pressing need for more electronics designers in Europe.