Europe and the United States absolutely must continue to cooperate on chip technology, Imec CEO Luc Van den hove believes. A lack of good cooperation would be very inefficient.
The top man of the Flemish chip research centre made this statement in response to a joint visit of American ministers and an EU delegation to Imec in Leuven, writes Data News.
According to the top man, the entry into force of the Chips Act in the US and the EU should not lead to a brake on cooperation in chip technology. Both the US and the EU are trying to use the laws and regulations specific to processor technology to ensure that their own chip production is scaled up, thereby becoming more independent from other (Asian) chip producers.
The US has allocated as much as $52 billion (€48 billion) for this purpose. The EU is investing €43 billion through public-private partnerships. In the case of the EU, these investments in the field of chip production should achieve a global percentage of between 10 and 20 percent.
No competition and research duplication
More specifically, Van den hove indicates that these investments should not lead to the US and the EU competing. Moreover, it would be very inefficient to duplicate all chip technology research.
The latter is particularly true for Imec itself, which is a primary research partner of almost all major U.S. tech companies and with many U.S. universities. The Belgian government is investing heavily in the research institute, and Imec considers it very important to have good cooperation between the two regions.
Phasing out cooperation with China
The Imec chief further indicates that the Flemish chip research centre wants to meet changing geopolitical conditions. More specifically, this means adhering to U.S. sanctions regulations for chip technology and phasing out cooperation with China.
Also read: Imec forced to cut ties with China