European Chips Act ignores dependence on China for PCBs Information | July 11, 2023 By Peter Clarke
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European help for home chip manufacturing ignores the very fact the continent has develop into extremely depending on China to make its PCBs and supply digital manufacturing companies, in keeping with the printed circuit commerce physique.
Europe’s dependence for electronics manufacturing companies could also be extra numerous however is much more acute, in keeping with a report, Selling silicon-to-systems manufacturing, ready by the IPC. A silicon-to-systems, whole-ecosystem strategy is required to help Europe’s targets of strategic autonomy and the “twin transitions” to a greener, extra digital economic system, the report concludes.
The European Chips Act is welcome however Europe mustn’t focus solely on semiconductors, in keeping with the report. The studies states that PCB manufacturing and meeting and digital manufacturing companies in Europe have been in steep decline for many years.
IPC, previously the Institute of Printed Circuits, is a world commerce affiliation for the electronics manufacturing trade. IPC has 3,100 firm members drawn from throughout all sectors of the electronics trade, together with design, printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing, digital meeting, and superior packaging.
Help the entire chain
IPC has produced a report that highlights the necessity to help the entire provide chain, which is just as sturdy as its weakest hyperlink. The report follows one produced 18 months in the past lobbying for help for the US PCB trade (see Calls to help US PCB trade).
“The close to singular focus” on the semiconductor trade “has obscured critically essential segments of the electronics ecosystem,” particularly PCBs and digital meeting (EMS), with out which semiconductors can’t perform, the report says.
During the last 20 years, the European PCB sector skilled a steep decline, the report says, shrinking from roughly 20 to 30 % of world manufacturing to only 2.3 % in 2021. On the similar time Europe has develop into “extremely depending on China,” the report asserts.
In 2020 Europe imported extra PCBs from China than had been made domestically. That yr European PCB manufacturing was value €2 billion whereas Europe imported €4.2 billion of PCBs, of which 65 % – or €2.73 billion – got here from China.
The studies provides that the home EMS sector has grown in recent times, fueled by manufacturing facility funding by massive international corporations and in addition by the expansion of the downstream markets the sector serves, together with automotive, industrial, aerospace, protection, and healthcare. Nonetheless, the European Union imports roughly 90 % of its required EMS services and products.
“Revitalizing and rising the PCB and EMS segments is crucial to constructing a strong European electronics manufacturing ecosystem, which in flip is crucial to making sure provide chain resiliency, advancing the dual transitions, and selling European innovation,” stated Sanjay Huprikar, president of European operations. “It takes all parts within the provide chain – from silicon to programs – to efficiently produce the electronics all of us rely upon in so some ways.”
The European Fee is conscious of the problems IPC stated. It identified that on June 23, the European Fee’s Directorate Normal for Inside Market, Trade, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) hosted a gathering on electronics meeting and printed circuit board manufacturing with key trade stakeholders, together with corporations from the renewable power, aerospace/protection, automotive, and industrial sectors.
The dialogue was known as following an IPC assembly in April that introduced collectively leaders of presidency and trade to press for an EU technique to strengthen silicon-to-systems innovation and manufacturing.
Associated hyperlinks and articles:
Selling silicon-to-systems manufacturing
www.ipc.org
Information articles:
Munich startups associate on AI to spice up EDA
Free PCB design service makes use of AI within the cloud
Chinese language companies rise in high ten chip patrons’ rating
Calls to help US PCB trade
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