The European Union has set itself the goal of producing a fifth of the world's semiconductors by the end of the decade as well as making its first quantum computing technology within the next five years as a way of cutting down on non-European technologies.
European Commission flags
The "Digital Compass Plan," which was presented this week by the Commission, lays out the bloc's ambitions to advance its digital technologies sector.
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The world is currently undergoing a semiconductor shortage spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic and many western nations are dependent on chips from primarily Asian suppliers.
Many suppliers are withholding chips from industries such as the automotive sector in a bit to allow electronic developers to meet the inflated demand that has arisen as larger numbers of people remain under lockdown conditions due to the pandemic.
The plan cited the importance of semiconductors, used in connected cars, smartphones, internet-linked devices, high-performance computers and artificial intelligence, and where a global shortage is shutting down car factories around the world.
A similar scheme has also been prioritised by the Biden administration, which is seeking to boost domestic production of semiconductors to the tune of $37 billion (€31.1 billion).
European companies are particularly affected by chip shortages, given their reliance on East Asian and US semiconductor suppliers.
A document pertaining to the plan, which was examined by Reuters, said: “It is our proposed level of ambition that by 2030 the production of cutting-edge and sustainable semiconductors in Europe including processors is at least 20% of world production in value."
The plan is due to be revealed at some point on Tuesday and could change before the official announcement.
The plan specifies the EU are searching for "ultra-efficient" semiconductors with a higher performance than the majority of the current chip market.
The EU is proposing investment in new foundries for production, which could soak up a lot of the funding.
Another aspect of the plan is for the EU to invest in quantum technologies.
Officials say this could help speed up advances in developing new medicines and genome sequencing.
“It is our proposed level of ambition that by 2025, Europe will have the first computer with quantum acceleration paving the way for Europe to be at the cutting edge of quantum capabilities by 2030,” the document stated.
Read more: Automakers may have to overhaul supply chains to address chip shortage
The EU has also called for 10,000 climate-neutral facilities by 2030 to help Europe develop its own cloud infrastructure as well as the doubling of unicorns, or companies worth more than $1 billion.
The final part of the plan details the EU's ambitious plans to have all areas in Europe covered by 5G networks, in a bid to give easy access to high-speed Gigabit internet connections.
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