Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S cabinet has approved plans to spend €12.25 billion over five years in developing the country’s micro chip and semi-conductor sector.
The investment has gone up by over €1 billion from what Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, proposed in early April.
A lot of the money is coming from European Union Covid-19 funding to develop new projects and revitalise industries following the pandemic.
Economy Minister, Nadia Calviño, revealed on Tuesday that €9.3 billion will be used to build new component factories.
Nadia Calviño said: “The aim is to comprehensively develop the design and production capacities of Spain’s microelectronics and semi-conductor industry, covering the entire process from design to chip manufacturing.”
The five-year investment will subsidise domestic semiconductor production capacity in leading-edge and mid-range semiconductor manufacturing to the tune of €9.3 billion.
Over €1.1 billion will go to research and development with chip design getting €1.3 billion.
It will fund research and development with a €1.1 billion subsidy and €1.3 billion allocated to chip design.
Money will also back Spanish companies in strategic projects and a €200 million fund will be set up to fund start-ups and enhancements in the semiconductor industry in Spain.
“Lack of support, commitment, vision or even a coherent strategy were some of the reasons why the chip industry has no presence in Spain so far, “ Calviño commented.
“We want Spain to play a relevant role in this technological field, the role it deserves, and European funds offer an extraordinary opportunity,” she added.
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That’s ridiculous and burning of cash from the EU taxpayer! Spain has no proven tradition with chip design and manufacturing. To compare the numbers: Intel will just build a chip-factory in East Germany for 17 billion Euros. Within the coming 10 years, South Korean electronic giant Samsung will invest 300 billion Dollars into chip design and manufacturing. You have to know, that the life cycle of a chip-generation is not longer than 4 years. Afterwards you have to build a new factory from scratch with another chip-technology and a better sanitary environment to be competitive on the global chip market. Who then will spend another 12 billion Euros to Spain? It would have been better, if the EU promotes a joint European chip initiative, investing at least 100 billion Euros.