Chipmakers STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries received EU authorization on Friday to develop a new chip facility in France with French public aid. The action will improve Europe’s supply security, resilience, and output of semiconductor technology in the region.
The European Commission announced that the aid will take the form of direct grants to the companies. The support amounts to 7.4 billion euros, and the EC expects the project to operate at full capacity by 2027.
The firms announced their intention to build the new facility last June. They will erect it next to STM’s current operation in Crolles. The company estimates producing up to 620,000 18-nanometer wafers per year.
Energy efficiency and green transition
The European-created technology has a significantly lower power consumption than currently available alternatives. The project will make it possible to mass-produce energy-efficient and secure processors.
The power efficient semiconductors “are needed for electric vehicles, charging stations and other applications that play an important role in the green transition in Europe,” Margrethe Vestager, executive VP at the EC, says.
“The measure will also create high-skilled employment and development opportunities in Europe, while limiting possible distortions of competition.”
The United States and the European Union have been pushing for domestic chip manufacturing and collectively invested billions in state subsidies. The aim is to reduce alliance from Asian suppliers. This would alleviate the global chip shortage automakers are experiencing.
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