The European Union is reportedly exploring the possibility of building an advanced semiconductor factory on European soil and Samsung might be involved in the project, reveals a new report by Bloomberg citing a French Finance Ministry official.
According to the report, the European Union is considering building this advanced semiconductor factory as a way to cut its dependence on 5G solutions, high-performance computing, and semiconductors for autonomous vehicles from manufacturers operating across the pond. But for the time being, it’s unclear whether this would be an entirely new facility or an existing one that will be repurposed for the task. Regardless, the preliminary plan is to produce 10nm-based semiconductors and smaller, possibly even 2nm solutions later down the line.
Samsung may not be the only semiconductor giant involved
The initiative is partly led by European Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton who last year said that ‘without an autonomous European capacity in microelectronics, there will be no European digital sovereignty.’ Samsung’s involvement hasn’t been confirmed yet but the Korean tech giant isn’t the only force in the semiconductor space that could become a key to the European Union’s plans to nurture domestic semiconductor manufacturing. TSMC is another, though neither company has made any grand reveals on the matter.
So far, 19 members of the European Union have reportedly joined this newfound chip alliance with the intention of supporting the commission’s plans. Last year, Thierry Breton revealed that this alliance could be backed by a €30 billion infusion from public and private investors.
At the end of the day, it remains to be seen if, as well as how Samsung could be involved with the European Union’s plans to build an advanced semiconductor factory. The company is also busy expanding its own semiconductor operations and it could be looking at a massive $17 billion investment in a new chip manufacturing plant in Texas.
