The United States has launched a five-year chip plan
The United States has also begun to implement a five-year plan.
The U.S. government has unveiled a five-year strategy to support the American semiconductor industry with funds from the CHIPS Act. This 61-page paper outlines the four key and broad objectives that the U.S. National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) hopes to achieve within five years: to rapidly and successfully research future microelectronics technologies, to translate research into manufacturable products, to develop and educate the semiconductor workforce, and to establish connections among various industry participants in the private and public sectors.
The strategic document, titled "National Microelectronics Research Strategy," was authored by the Subcommittee on Microelectronics of the NSTC, which is part of the White House. The NSTC helps to promote the scientific objectives of the federal government and the President. Given that the CHIPS Act and the national competitiveness of the semiconductor industry have been top priorities for the Biden administration, it is not surprising that the NSTC has published a document outlining its desired goals.
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A five-year strategy might evoke memories of the five-year plans of China and the former Soviet Union. However, unlike those plans which were economy-focused, the NSTC's paper does not provide hard numbers for what the industry needs to achieve but instead focuses on broader themes beyond just economics. The NSTC describes its paper as a "framework for federal departments and agencies, academia, industry, non-profit organizations, and international allies and partners" that will help "shape the semiconductor field" for the benefit of the United States and friendly nations.
Four main goals within five years
The U.S. government hopes to achieve four main goals within the next five years, namely "to realize and accelerate the research progress of future generations of microelectronics technologies"; "to support, build, and bridge the microelectronics infrastructure from research to manufacturing"; "to develop and sustain the technical workforce of the microelectronics R&D to manufacturing ecosystem"; and "to create a vibrant microelectronics innovation ecosystem to accelerate the transition of R&D to American industry."
The paper is lengthy and complex, but in summary, it explains how the CHIPS Act funding should be used to improve research and development, manufacturing, and education. The first goal focuses on the research and development of semiconductor materials, tools, and packaging, and to "translate innovation into a manufacturable production process." Corresponding to goal one, goal two aims to address the "laboratory to fab gap," with a particular emphasis on ensuring that small businesses and academia have access to the resources needed to manufacture and test chips.
Education and the semiconductor industry workforce are the focus of the third goal. Part of this involves educating educators and students about all the different disciplines related to the field, even including K-12. The NSTC also recommends strengthening undergraduate and graduate curricula, stating that existing "coursework is insufficient."The paper also suggests engaging with the general public to increase awareness and curiosity about silicon, and proposes the creation of museum exhibitions and the use of competitions to pique public interest. A clear pattern of these efforts is NASA, as many Americans grow up learning about planets, astronauts, and other space-related topics.
The fourth and final goal focuses on the semiconductor ecosystem and promotes collaboration among its various teams. The NSTC envisions deeper cooperation between various entities in the public and private sectors, including government agencies, academic institutions, and companies. The paper also pays special attention to helping startups, as they require substantial funding to get off the ground but may not become profitable for some time.
It is clear that the industry is still far from achieving the goals outlined in the paper. Currently, most of the focus of the CHIPS Act is to provide funding for large companies such as Intel and TSMC so that their U.S. fabs can be completed on time. It is speculated that this is why the paper assumes it will take five years to achieve all these goals, which may be more difficult and important than building fabs.
Additional subsidies, the United States initiates a global semiconductor "arms race"
Intel held its first wafer foundry event in San Jose, California. At the event, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated that if the United States wants to "lead the world" in the semiconductor field, it must further increase government investment in subsidies.
To promote the "reflow" of chip manufacturing back to the homeland, the Biden administration introduced the "CHIPS Act" in August 2022, promising to provide $52.7 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor research and production over five years, with $39 billion allocated to semiconductor production. To date, although more than 170 chip companies worldwide have applied for subsidies under the Act, the U.S. Department of Commerce has only granted three smaller subsidies. On February 19, the $1.5 billion granted to GlobalFoundries, the world's third-largest contract chip manufacturer, was the largest of these.
GlobalFoundries' chips are widely used in satellite and space communications, the defense industry, as well as in automotive blind spot detection and collision warning systems, as well as Wi-Fi and cellular connections. The $1.5 billion incentive subsidy provided by the U.S. government will be used for the construction and expansion of GlobalFoundries' factories in New York and Vermont. Gina Raimondo stated that "the chips that GlobalFoundries will produce in these new factories are crucial to U.S. national security."
According to informed sources, U.S. chip giant Intel is also one of the companies applying for funding subsidies from the CHIPS Act, and the Biden administration is currently negotiating to provide Intel with more than $10 billion in subsidies. This is likely to be the largest financial grant in the U.S. government's plan to guide the semiconductor manufacturing industry "reflow" back to the homeland, which may include loans and direct grants.
Intel previously announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in building a new plant in Ohio, which could become the world's largest chip factory. In early February, Intel revealed that it had planned to delay the completion of the plant until 2026, and it was speculated that the U.S. government's slow subsidy disbursement was one of the reasons for the delay in Intel's construction progress. However, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stated on February 21 that the announcement of the subsidy would be "soon" to be released. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo, who is responsible for advancing the grant work, also stated on the same day that "Intel plays a very important role in this (semiconductor industry) revival and should be prepared for the upcoming 'CHIPS Act' grant."
Raimondo also revealed that a single "CHIPS Act" is not enough for the United States to regain leadership in the semiconductor supply chain. She added: "If we want to lead the world, we must have some kind of sustained investment—whether you call it CHIPS Two (the second 'CHIPS Act') or anything else. We have fallen too far behind before."
The United States has also begun to implement a five-year plan.
The U.S. government has unveiled a five-year strategy to support the American semiconductor industry with funds from the CHIPS Act. This 61-page paper outlines the four key and broad objectives that the U.S. National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) hopes to achieve within five years: to rapidly and successfully research future microelectronics technologies, to translate research into manufacturable products, to develop and educate the semiconductor workforce, and to establish connections among various industry participants in the private and public sectors.
The strategic document, titled "National Microelectronics Research Strategy," was authored by the Subcommittee on Microelectronics of the NSTC, which is part of the White House. The NSTC helps to promote the scientific objectives of the federal government and the President. Given that the CHIPS Act and the national competitiveness of the semiconductor industry have been top priorities for the Biden administration, it is not surprising that the NSTC has published a document outlining its desired goals.
Advertisement
A five-year strategy might evoke memories of the five-year plans of China and the former Soviet Union. However, unlike those plans which were economy-focused, the NSTC's paper does not provide hard numbers for what the industry needs to achieve but instead focuses on broader themes beyond just economics. The NSTC describes its paper as a "framework for federal departments and agencies, academia, industry, non-profit organizations, and international allies and partners" that will help "shape the semiconductor field" for the benefit of the United States and friendly nations.
Four main goals within five years
The U.S. government hopes to achieve four main goals within the next five years, namely "to realize and accelerate the research progress of future generations of microelectronics technologies"; "to support, build, and bridge the microelectronics infrastructure from research to manufacturing"; "to develop and sustain the technical workforce of the microelectronics R&D to manufacturing ecosystem"; and "to create a vibrant microelectronics innovation ecosystem to accelerate the transition of R&D to American industry."
The paper is lengthy and complex, but in summary, it explains how the CHIPS Act funding should be used to improve research and development, manufacturing, and education. The first goal focuses on the research and development of semiconductor materials, tools, and packaging, and to "translate innovation into a manufacturable production process." Corresponding to goal one, goal two aims to address the "laboratory to fab gap," with a particular emphasis on ensuring that small businesses and academia have access to the resources needed to manufacture and test chips.
Education and the semiconductor industry workforce are the focus of the third goal. Part of this involves educating educators and students about all the different disciplines related to the field, even including K-12. The NSTC also recommends strengthening undergraduate and graduate curricula, stating that existing "coursework is insufficient."The paper also suggests engaging with the general public to increase awareness and curiosity about silicon, and proposes the creation of museum exhibitions and the use of competitions to pique public interest. A clear pattern of these efforts is NASA, as many Americans grow up learning about planets, astronauts, and other space-related topics.
The fourth and final goal focuses on the semiconductor ecosystem and promotes collaboration among its various teams. The NSTC envisions deeper cooperation between various entities in the public and private sectors, including government agencies, academic institutions, and companies. The paper also pays special attention to helping startups, as they require substantial funding to get off the ground but may not become profitable for some time.
It is clear that the industry is still far from achieving the goals outlined in the paper. Currently, most of the focus of the CHIPS Act is to provide funding for large companies such as Intel and TSMC so that their U.S. fabs can be completed on time. It is speculated that this is why the paper assumes it will take five years to achieve all these goals, which may be more difficult and important than building fabs.
Additional subsidies, the United States initiates a global semiconductor "arms race"
Intel held its first wafer foundry event in San Jose, California. At the event, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated that if the United States wants to "lead the world" in the semiconductor field, it must further increase government investment in subsidies.
To promote the "reflow" of chip manufacturing back to the homeland, the Biden administration introduced the "CHIPS Act" in August 2022, promising to provide $52.7 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor research and production over five years, with $39 billion allocated to semiconductor production. To date, although more than 170 chip companies worldwide have applied for subsidies under the Act, the U.S. Department of Commerce has only granted three smaller subsidies. On February 19, the $1.5 billion granted to GlobalFoundries, the world's third-largest contract chip manufacturer, was the largest of these.
GlobalFoundries' chips are widely used in satellite and space communications, the defense industry, as well as in automotive blind spot detection and collision warning systems, as well as Wi-Fi and cellular connections. The $1.5 billion incentive subsidy provided by the U.S. government will be used for the construction and expansion of GlobalFoundries' factories in New York and Vermont. Gina Raimondo stated that "the chips that GlobalFoundries will produce in these new factories are crucial to U.S. national security."
According to informed sources, U.S. chip giant Intel is also one of the companies applying for funding subsidies from the CHIPS Act, and the Biden administration is currently negotiating to provide Intel with more than $10 billion in subsidies. This is likely to be the largest financial grant in the U.S. government's plan to guide the semiconductor manufacturing industry "reflow" back to the homeland, which may include loans and direct grants.
Intel previously announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in building a new plant in Ohio, which could become the world's largest chip factory. In early February, Intel revealed that it had planned to delay the completion of the plant until 2026, and it was speculated that the U.S. government's slow subsidy disbursement was one of the reasons for the delay in Intel's construction progress. However, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stated on February 21 that the announcement of the subsidy would be "soon" to be released. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo, who is responsible for advancing the grant work, also stated on the same day that "Intel plays a very important role in this (semiconductor industry) revival and should be prepared for the upcoming 'CHIPS Act' grant."
Raimondo also revealed that a single "CHIPS Act" is not enough for the United States to regain leadership in the semiconductor supply chain. She added: "If we want to lead the world, we must have some kind of sustained investment—whether you call it CHIPS Two (the second 'CHIPS Act') or anything else. We have fallen too far behind before."