Europe’s Chips Act 2.0: Closing the semiconductor gap with speed and focus
Europe’s semiconductor awakening was never meant to be slow. When the EU passed its €43 billion Chips Act in 2022, the ambition was clear: double Europe’s share of the global chip market by 2030. Yet, as the European Court of Auditors has noted, the goal was “overly ambitious” and the execution “too slow”. By decade’s end, Europe’s share will likely hover closer to 11 — far from the promised 20. While the world’s chipmakers are racing ahead, Brussels is still lacing its boots.
A faster, sharper strategy
This is the gap we at Technology Industries of Finland, and particularly our Semiconductor Branch Group, want the forthcoming Chips Act 2.0 to close. Europe needs a sharper, faster industrial strategy that rewards excellence, scales what already works and moves at the speed of global competition. That is why we welcomed the EU Member State Semiconductor Coalition’s call for a bold and strategically revised Chips Act focused on prosperity, , resilience and making Europe an essential part of the global semiconductor value chain.
From our vantage point, the first Chips Act had its virtues. It revived interest in Europe’s microelectronics sector and made technological resilience a mainstream concern. But it also revealed an excess of good intentions and a deficit of coordination. Too many moving parts, too few tangible results.
We believe the second Chips Act must turn ambition into execution. Our recommendations chart a pragmatic course: consolidate Europe’s strengths, align with market needs and generate real demand, and tie funding to impact rather than political geography.
Six priorities for a more impactful Chips Act
- Build where Europe already excels. The EU should reinforce its global foothold in design, MEMS and sensors, photonics, quantum and advanced materials and process technologies. These are the enabling layers of the digital and green transitions—the chips behind connectivity, mobility and clean energy. Finland’s own Chips from the North strategy shows how a small nation can punch above its weight through depth, not breadth.
- Make excellence the currency of support. Public funds should go to projects with genuine potential for world leadership. Europe’s next semiconductor budget under the coming financial framework must be large enough to matter but selective enough to deliver results.
- Empower companies to drive innovation. We propose industry-led innovation ecosystems that unite lead firms, startups and researchers to accelerate breakthroughs in, for example, design, materials and sustainable manufacturing. The goal is swifter translation from R&D to production—where Europe has long stumbled.
- Fix the talent problem. Europe’s chip ambitions will falter without a new generation of engineers, designers, material scientists and technicians. Universities must align training with industrial needs, and the EU should make it far easier for global experts to work and teach here. The semiconductor race will be won as much in classrooms as in cleanrooms.
- Turn sustainability into a competitive edge. With clean energy, abundant water and world-class materials science, Europe can become the global benchmark for “green chips.” Energy-efficient processors, circular manufacturing and recyclable materials can make environmental virtue an advantage in exports and resilience.
- Strengthen global partnerships. The EU should deepen collaboration with like-minded partners to secure supply chains, co-invest in technology and foster innovation. Joint ventures and shared R&D platforms under open strategic autonomy can enhance preparedness and reinforce Europe’s role in global semiconductor ecosystems.
From cautious coordination to collective ambition
And finally, governance. Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem still operates too much as a collection of national silos. The European Semiconductor Board, with structured support from industry, should be reinforced with real coordinating powers, enabling pooling of national and EU resources to achieve critical mass for projects of strategic significance.
If Europe can bring clarity, confidence and velocity to its next Chips Act, it could signal a cultural shift—a move from cautious coordination to collective ambition.
In the global race for critical technologies, Europe’s edge will come not from catching up, but from leading in the areas where it already has unique strengths.
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