The federal government has leaned into the reshoring of semiconductor production capability in the next few years, to sit alongside the country’s strong showing in chip design and development. Christian Annesley tracks progress
The year ahead is a significant one in electronics and semiconductor manufacture in North America: the CHIPS and Science Act of mid-2022 has made sure of that, with its promise of more than $50bn of government investment flowing into domestic semiconductor manufacture over the rest of the decade, to encourage reshoring.
But, as we look ahead, what specific moves and trends are likely to emerge? The obvious point to make in relation to the CHIPS Act is that the legislation won’t lead to new capacity in 2023, because the ramp that the industry requires to turn aspiration and investment into production is relatively long. But lots of moves will be made in the year ahead – and indeed are already to be seen in some quarters.
Alongside this question of production capacity and when it come on-line, the other idea to explore with ‘new trends’ in our sights as a theme is what kinds of innovations and developments are opening up opportunities in silicon chips and chip design, and how quickly the US will step into any emerging spaces. Plus, all these different variables will of course have a bearing on the North American speciality gases markets that support electronics and semiconductor manufacture.
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