One of Europe's largest electronic chip factories, the US Global Foundries company is expanding its plant in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. It is adjacent to Infineon Technologies, Germany's largest chip manufacturer. Driven by the "Saxon Silicon Valley" R&D program at the beginning of this century, this microelectronics industry center may usher in the golden age of the European chip industry.

Based on reports from Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung and France’s Le Monde, the chip component, which has long been regarded as a basic product, has become a major geostrategic factor in recent months. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic This led to a substantial increase in the amount of digital exchange, a blowout in demand for chips and a global out-of-stock, and highlighted Europe’s dependence on Asian and American manufacturers.

However, in Dresden, Global Foundries's factory is running at full horsepower, and the prospects seem very bright. Not only is the new digital age conducive to the development of the region, the European Union has just listed microelectronics as one of the cores for strengthening "technical sovereignty."

Europe finally realized the need for more active industrial policies to support certain strategic industries. At the beginning of December 2020, the European Union launched the "European Important Interest Common Project", which includes supporting private companies to invest in microelectronics, and also covers countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. It is estimated that governments of various countries will invest 15-50 billion euros to support related industries according to the needs of enterprises.

Global Foundries spokesperson Jens Druze explained: “What happened in the semiconductor industry in 2020 is to see nearly 10 years of changes in one year.” This company has operations in the United States and Singapore, and Call for the strengthening of the European semiconductor industry. Druze said: "Europe finally understands the need for a certain degree of autonomy. All major regions of the world (the United States, South Korea, China, and Singapore) are supporting the microelectronics industry."

With the support of EU funds, Global Foundries intends to invest more than 1 billion euros in the Dresden plant, hoping to double its production capacity within five years.

If you are a French, it is hard not to ask a question when visiting the "Saxony Silicon Valley": "Don't you know Grenoble?" It is the center of the French microelectronics industry, and it is also the center of STMicroelectronics and French Soitec Semiconductor. The location of the enterprise.

Paul Budel, president of Soitec, is looking forward to the "spring" of the European microelectronics industry. He explained: "It should be clear that the semiconductor world is like a two-headed dragon. On the one hand, the chips are getting smaller and smaller. Europe has been behind for a long time, and the major manufacturers are in Asia; on the other hand, it is the'bigger' Chips, that is, chips that can have more functions. This is a category that Europe has a certain lead."