On December 5 local time in the United Kingdom, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) announced the launch of a feasibility study aimed at finding new methods to support the semiconductor industry in the United Kingdom and possibly establishing a new "national agency" to promote infrastructure to support British industry.

According to the DCMS press statement, the study will also explore whether chip companies need to make better use of prototype design and manufacturing facilities to address innovation barriers and develop the industry; It will also explore opportunities to provide more professional software tools for start-ups and ways to develop cutting-edge packaging processes.

The strategy aims to unleash the full potential of the UK microchip business, support employment and skills, promote the development of local industries, and ensure the reliable supply of semiconductors. It is reported that the strategy will be released as soon as possible.

The budget allocated by the British government for this research is between 700000 and 900000 pounds (excluding VAT) for those who wish to carry out this research.

Pull the semiconductor industry

Semiconductor is an important part of modern electronic system. In the past two years, due to the epidemic situation and other factors, the global chip shortage has intensified, and the automobile, national defense, consumer electronics, energy and other industries have also suffered a serious blow. This year, all parties have proposed a series of measures to deal with the changing global market.

In February this year, the European Union announced the launch of a 43 billion euro plan to deal with chip shortages, strengthen the EU's semiconductor production capacity, and reduce dependence on American and Asian manufacturers.

In August this year, the U.S. government passed the Chip and Science Act, which will provide a huge subsidy of 52.7 billion dollars for the development of semiconductor R&D, manufacturing and labor force in the United States, hoping to promote the landing of the chip manufacturing industry in the United States. Of this, $39 billion will be used for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, and $2 billion will be used for traditional chips used in automobiles and defense systems. In addition, enterprises that set up chip factories in the United States will receive 25% tax investment concessions.

In the past decade, the UK's semiconductor industry has developed rapidly, with global revenue increasing by 95% from 2012 to 2021. Meanwhile, it has established a number of major industrial advantages in chip design, research, compound semiconductor and other fields.

Michelle Donelan, secretary of DCMS in the United Kingdom, said, "We hope to build on these successes and keep our semiconductor industry leading. This research will help our ambitions and may lead to the establishment of a new national institution and larger research facilities."

However, according to the foreign media "techniformed", these measures have not solved the supply chain loopholes faced by the UK and other regions of the world.

From the perspective of development history, the strength of British semiconductor is not weak in fact, but its conservative and cautious style has led to the loss of many development opportunities. According to a report of the House of Commons Committee, the UK is missing out on investment in the semiconductor industry. As other countries seek to build greater flexibility in their supply chains, this puts their enterprises at risk.

The report calls on the government to formulate its semiconductor strategy and a new industry agreement to fund UK semiconductor investment. The report also pointed out that in addition to strategy, what the industry really needs is international cooperation. The government should be more proactive in seeking partnerships with its counterparts in the United States and the European Union, and cooperate with Taiwan, China and other major companies to ensure a large amount of foreign investment in the United Kingdom.

MTS2023

On January 5, 2023 (Thursday), Jibang Consulting will hold the 2023 Memory Trend Summit.

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