The European Union seeks to secure the manufacture of semiconductors to guarantee its sovereignty. Update on the situation with Frédéric Tilhac, Managing Director of Alter Technology France.
The race for investment in semiconductors continues to rage. China, United States, European Union: all the major blocs are investing to develop or maintain their sovereignty in this area against the backdrop of a global shortage of components. Frédéric Tilhac, managing director of Alter Technology France, a company specializing in semiconductors, was the guest of Tech&Co on Tuesday 3 January. He gave his analysis of the situation.
Regarding the shortage “we are at the same point. The cycle times are getting longer in relation to the supply of components and this affects everyone. It is not easy. Europe and the United States are trying to investing billions of dollars but there is still the expertise to acquire and setting it all up takes time”, he underlined.
Tensions between China and Taiwan are a threat
A situation that is not helped by the inertia affecting the sector: the production of semiconductors requires time between investment and the manufacture of chips.
“It’s several years to set up a factory and to qualify the process. Behind this, there is also product design to be carried out. These are relatively long cycle times. Investing now is necessary but we don’t we will only see the gains in a few years”, detailed Frédéric Tilhac,
The world market is heavily dependent on TSMC, the Taiwanese founder. However, the tense geopolitical situation between Taiwan and its neighbour, China, continues to pose a threat to the supply of semiconductors, which requires the relocation of semiconductor manufacturing, believes Frédéric Tilhac.
“President Biden saw his Chinese counterpart to find agreements to avoid having an aggression of Taiwan by China. Nevertheless, the risk is present. Result: we see that Europe or the United States try to go faster in terms of sovereignty. Texas Instruments is in the process of repatriating a lot of factories. Before, they sent manufacturing to Asian factories”
Frédéric Tilhac also believes that the European plan of 43 billion euros for the production of semiconductors is not enough. “It’s a good start, but it’s a drop in the bucket.”
