Dutch chip company NXP receives a 1 billion euro loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
“It is fundamental for Europe to remain an indispensable player in the value chain of critical technologies and build RDI and production capacity in those supply chains,” stated EIB vice president Robert de Groot. “Luckily, the EU boasts some of the world’s most advanced chip makers. As semiconductors are key to the digital and green transitions, their importance will only grow, and the EIB proudly supports such strategic technology.”
Mainly focused on R&D
NXP will use the additional funding for R&D activities in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Romania. The investment contributes to building an advanced European chip ecosystem, in line with the EU Chips Act and national strategies such as the Dutch Semicon Valley. The goal is to strengthen the semiconductor market in the EU and ensure a secure and competitive supply of chips.
Usually, ASML attracts the most attention as a key semiconductor player, but the Dutch chip sector is packed when it comes to advanced tech companies. For example, BE Semiconductor is competitive in the packaging sector (one of the last stages in chip manufacturing) and NXP is a major player in the automotive field.
Maarten Dirkzwager, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at NXP, emphasizes the importance of the new loan: ““NXP is committed to strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, and this significant loan from EIB aims at bolstering NXP’s efforts in research and development across many of our EU sites.”
Read also: Netherlands further tightens export restrictions on ASML equipment
Larger sums elsewhere
While the investment obviously promotes R&D in Europe, we should stress that the amounts required to be competitive are now astronomical at any rate. South Korea showed how vast a sum could be lined up for semiconductor advancement early last year with a converted €430 billion subsidy. Granted, this lump sum is spread over 23 years, though, and the country has only Samsung and SK Hynix as its major players, the former of which has a lot of catching up to do with frontrunner TSMC. Nonetheless, this limited group of beneficiaries may actually be an advantage, as it may convert the cash into success more easily than a distributed sector would allow for.
Regardless, competition from Taiwan and the United States is cutthroat. TSMC is also making increasingly sophisticated processors on U.S. soil, while in Europe it is opting not to do so. And while NXP has a strong position as a supplier in the automotive industry, this is an industry that is languishing somewhat (especially relative to the generous profits in AI infrastructure) and Chinese car brands are trouncing their European competitors in terms of value. Thus, it appears there is still a lot of work to be done throughout the supply chain.