They are very small and are currently causing a lot of trouble around the world. Semiconductors are suddenly in short supply. Almost all automakers have to stop their production because there is no replenishment. Experts have just calculated that the automotive industry as a whole is missing out on revenues of more than 200 billion dollars, this year alone. Many other industries are also suffering: washing machines cannot be built, there are problems with cell phones, and the production of wind turbines is delayed. The great chip crisis has already become a serious threat to the global economy. Because the bottlenecks could stall the upswing that is so much expected after the sharp decline in the pandemic.
The US government under President Joe Biden is already holding crisis talks with everyone involved. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, has announced a European semiconductor law to encourage investment. Politicians have discovered the explosive nature, but unfortunately not in Germany. In the German public, including in the Bundestag election campaign, the topic has so far hardly been accepted. Incomprehensible, as German industry suffers particularly.
The chip crisis shows how important a strong semiconductor industry is for Europe. Semiconductors have long been the decisive key technology, and the demand is increasing and increasing. Nowadays there is electronics everywhere, it depends on the many small circuits and sensors on silicon chips. An electric car, and one that is supposed to drive autonomously, for example, needs significantly more semiconductors than conventional vehicles, and without electronics it is no longer even possible to open the car window. But also for important projects such as the energy transition or digitization, the right semiconductors in sufficient quantities are essential.
There is only one European left among the big ones: Infineon
For far too long, the industry has relied on something to be replenished. The dependence on Asia and the USA for this key technology has grown steadily, which is fatal in times of trade disputes and political uncertainties. Taiwan, for example, is a world leader in semiconductor production. There is great concern about what would happen if China were to increase its influence there and the flow of goods would be diverted.
Today, less than ten percent of all semiconductors worldwide are manufactured in Europe, but the European economy needs much more. Today there is only one European company among the ten largest chip producers in the world: Infineon from Munich. The EU Commission now wants to double the proportion from Europe to 20 percent by 2030. The problem: the construction of a semiconductor plant, in short Fab called, is complicated, expensive and takes time. That is why everything has to go faster, but politics is too slow, negotiations with interested parties, funding processes and approval procedures take a long time.
There are also positive examples: Infineon has just opened a new factory in Villach, Austria, for a total of 1.6 billion euros. The construction time was only three years. Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, opened a new production facility in Dresden in the summer. The Saxon state capital has developed into an exemplary chip location over the past few decades – a biotope has emerged from large factories, suppliers and many experts.
Europe has already lost touch in many important areas, in the production of batteries or solar systems, in network technology, in mobile communications. In the chip industry, where technological change is faster than almost anywhere else, the return must be successful.