UK’s £1bn strategy for semiconductor industry lacks ambition, say critics
The UK government has announced an investment of up to £1bn in the domestic semiconductor industry, but has been criticised for declining to join the spending race that has seen the US and EU announce significantly bigger programmes.
Labour accused the government of lacking ambition in its announcement, while one UK startup said the £1bn figure was less than the cost of one basic semiconductor plant.
The UK’s long-awaited national semiconductor strategy would focus on the country’s existing strengths in the technology. Semiconductors, or microchips, are the “brains” of electronic devices, formed by wafers of silicon that are key to most forms of modern technology, from cars, smartphones and kitchen devices to power stations.
Under the strategy, the planned decade-long investment would be targeted at areas such as design, research and development.
“Semiconductors underpin the devices we use every day and will be crucial to advancing the technologies of tomorrow,” said the prime minister, Rishi Sunak. “Our new strategy focuses our efforts on where our strengths lie, in areas like research and design, so we can build our competitive edge on the global stage.”
Concerns over the fragility of the global semiconductor industry have been heightened by the Covid pandemic, when a surge in demand for electronic devices triggered a chip shortage, and by fears that China planned to invade Taiwan, the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductors.
The strategy, to be released in full on Friday, avoided committing to the huge subsidies announced by the US and EU. China also committed multi-billion-dollar sums to boosting semiconductor production.
The US pledged $52bn (£42bn) in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing and research, while
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