Austria wants to become one of the EU’s leading countries in the chip industry and is banking on the EU’s Chips Act as the main vehicle for boosting semiconductor production, but is shying away from investing fresh public money in the sector.
On Thursday, the Austrian conservative-Green government invited industry representatives to a “chip summit” to enhance cooperation in the future, with a focus on the semiconductor sector in the next budget to be presented in autumn.
“Austria should not only be known for Lippizaner, Mozartkugeln and clean electricity but also for microchips ‘Made in Austria’,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) stressed on Thursday, adding that the government wants to expand Austria’s role as “one of the leading European players”.
The summit marks the starting signal for the national implementation of the Chips Act, an EU initiative seeking to bolster the bloc’s semiconductor capacity and establish a mechanism for preventing and managing supply chain crises.
With the Chips Act, the EU aims to increase its share of about 10% in the global semiconductor market to 20% by 2030 and therefore wants to mobilise €43 billion for the chip industry.
However, only €3 billion will come from the EU budget, the rest is to be provided by the member states. It is yet unclear how much Austria will contribute as budget negotiations have not been concluded.
Source : Euractiv
