Microelectronics in Europe: With new funding to strengthen competitiveness

Microelectronics in Europe: With new funding to strengthen competitiveness

The semiconductor industry has recovered from the slump of the crisis in financial markets quite well and will achieve worldwide this year with growth of 3 percent a turnover of 307 billion U.S. dollars, said Ulrich Schaefer of the Central Association of Electrical and Electronics Industry (ZVEI) on the jointly organized with VDE VDE / ZVEI Symposium microelectronics in Berlin. For 2012 the ZVEI expects an increase of almost 7 percent to 328 billion and 2013 by 5.4 percent to 346 billion U.S. dollars. While sales figures are typical of the industry heavily influenced by price fluctuations, to leave the development of more reliable numbers to draw conclusions about the growth of the industry. They have been in 1991 by a "steady long-lasting growth of 9 percent per year" have been identified and reached by July 2011 at the world produced 16 billion ICs per month.

On the European market saw the situation, "unfortunately not so good," summed up the ZVEI market watchers. Here, sales rose by 2.5 percent have annual 1995-2010 well below the average rate of increase of world market of 6 percent per year, and the share of worldwide sales had steadily declined from 23 percent in 1991 to 13 percent last year . The automotive electronics "is actually our last strength we have in Europe", however, the production of components for communications technology has "disappeared from Europe more or less". And measured by the number of wafer starts, which presented the ZVEI expert to compare the production at the symposium, European producer after Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, the United States and China have fallen to sixth place ahead of Singapore. "If we do not stop this trend," said Schaefer, "then we will fall short within the next ten years, the critical mass that you need to get this industry up"

The risk of losing the manufacturing and the foundation of research and development could, wants the European Commission to oppose in the Eighth Framework Programme under the title "Horizon 2020," as the Head of Nanoelectronics in the Brussels General Administration, Willy van Puymbroeck explained. There will be a total of 80 billion euros for R & D funding in the period 2014 to 2020 at six key technologies - so-called "Key Enabling Technologies" - focusing, which include new materials, biotechnology, nanotechnology, production technology, photonics and micro- - Nanoelectronics and belong.

A 27-member "High Level Group" would have the situation in Europe in these key areas analyzed and pronounced eleven recommendations, which were not yet formally adopted, but would be under discussion in the Commission. One goal for example is the adaptation of competition law and the rules of government funding. Granted this is one of the recommendations, set in Europe to promote the same basic terms as their competitors in other world regions.