EU Signs Declaration for 2 nm Node and Custom Processor Development

[AleksandarK]

European Union has today processed a declaration that was signed by 17 member states about the development of a 2 nm semiconductor node and an advanced low-power processor. The declaration signed today proposes that the EU puts away 145 billion Euros for the development of the technologies needed to manufacture a 2 nm semiconductor manufacturing process, along with the development of a custom, low-power embedded processor designed for industrial applications. The 17 member countries include Belgium, France, Germany, Croatia, Estonia, Italy, Greece, Malta, Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Finland, and Cyprus. All of the countries listed are going to join the development of these technologies and will have the funds to do it over the next 2-3 years.

To ensure Europe's technology sovereignty and competitiveness, as well as our capacity to address key environmental and societal challenges and new emerging mass markets, we need to strengthen Europe's capacity to develop the next generation of processors and semiconductors. This includes chips and embedded systems that offer the best performance for specific applications across a wide range of sectors as well as leading-edge manufacturing progressively advancing towards 2 nm nodes for processor technology. Using connectivity, where Europe enjoys global lead, as a major use case driver for developing such capacity enables Europe to set the right level of ambition. This will require a collective effort to pool investment and to coordinate actions, by both public and private stakeholders.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[W1zzard]

Yeah if only signing declarations would have helped any dreams come true

 

[cumt559]

For this, one has to thank Trump.

 

[ZeppMan217]

I'm having a deja vu, as if I've seen such a headline before. EU and individual members talk the talk but it seems that no work's been done on that front. UK has ARM but the government never capitalized on it, plus the whole Brexit thing. Russia's been talking about developing their own microelectronics development infrastructure for years yet has nothing to show for it. China's the only country other than the US that has actual footing in this game so far. Intel's Israel site is another point of interest as it is backed by the Israel government.

 

[Luminescent]

That money will be stolen and nothing will be done! I'm from europe, they are all corupt and this kind of scheme is all too well known.

 

[umano]

Finally for Moore sake

 

[micropage7]

2nm? and we can expect some performance on lower wattage

 

[dj-electric]

Like signing on a piece of toilet paper before use, this thing is.

 

[Jack1n]

So tax money funding development for private companies who will make all the profit, outsource labor to Asia and increase prices by 20% because "they lost power for 40 minutes".

 

[krusha03]

They have Mikron which has 65nm, Angstrom with 90nm and GS Nanotech which has as low as 45nm or whichever. I know Roselectronics along with MCST and others have been wanting Ministry of Industry and Trade to do 16nm but they rely on that to be through TSMC for now.

IMEC, an R&D organization, has EUV and apparently Intel is also planning to have a EUV fab in Ireland.

Now I know that the lithography tech can come from Denmark and France but it all really depends on the needs, wants and the reality of cost and if it will ever pay off.

The biggest lithography machine producer is in the Netherlands so technology wise should not be an issue. Cost of building and running a fab is a whole different story thou

 

[sepheronx]

IMEC, an R&D organization, has EUV and apparently Intel is also planning to have a EUV fab in Ireland.



The biggest lithography machine producer is in the Netherlands so technology wise should not be an issue. Cost of building and running a fab is a whole different story thou

I deleted my post with reason that I was being a bit offtopic. But yeah, I know the lithography tech as I stated is in the EU. But the EU market for what they are producing (processors for government servers and such) isn't large enough for the specific processors I believe. Unless they hope to get other companies involved and become the next "TSMC". But I highly doubt it as the cost will be high.

We will see.

Already Intel's Hedge fund managers are asking Intel to go fabless....

I'm having a deja vu, as if I've seen such a headline before. EU and individual members talk the talk but it seems that no work's been done on that front. UK has ARM but the government never capitalized on it, plus the whole Brexit thing. Russia's been talking about developing their own microelectronics development infrastructure for years yet has nothing to show for it. China's the only country other than the US that has actual footing in this game so far. Intel's Israel site is another point of interest as it is backed by the Israel government.

Russia has 3 FAB's. 2 in Zelenograd (90nm and 65nm) and 1 in Kaliningrad (GS Nanotech that does upwards to 45nm so they say). They have very specific tasks/needs with Mikron's 65nm is specific to producing Elbrus 4SM and Elbrus 1 while also making RFID tech, and Angstrom's 90nm for Elbrus 2SM which is used for military applications as Elbrus 4SM is for government applications. GS Nanotech is for making SoC for top boxes and what not. The Market isn't big enough to warrant a 16nm plant to be honest as majority of the chips made are for government and Military. Cell phone sales are large but only at about 7m a year tops and opening a plant to produce modern 16nm or lower processors for mobile market, it will take a long time or never for that plant to pay off.

But many (Rostec and AFK Sistema) have been trying to get Ministry of Industry and trade to invest in 28nm or less facility for a few years now. But the ministry is stating that the market demand isn't high enough to warrant such a large investment.

 

[Jism]

I'm having a deja vu, as if I've seen such a headline before. EU and individual members talk the talk but it seems that no work's been done on that front. UK has ARM but the government never capitalized on it, plus the whole Brexit thing. Russia's been talking about developing their own microelectronics development infrastructure for years yet has nothing to show for it. China's the only country other than the US that has actual footing in this game so far. Intel's Israel site is another point of interest as it is backed by the Israel government.

Basicly, the EU is burning tax money on daily basis, collected from all member states and such, to create these money absorbing projects, on which usually nothing really competitive comes out at the end. I mean i bet in 10 years we're still reliant on US hardware. And the f.. 2nm.. TSCM has more experience with 7nm and such and here comes the EU with such a ambitious project "2nm" that most of the manufacturers did'nt do before. Sorry but the EU has bin and will be a money grabbing non-democratic thing which imposes idiotic rules to memberstates revoking it's complete democratic abilities.

Country's within the EU are better off without the EU as a whole.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

2nm? and we can expect some performance on lower wattage

Nope its all a pipe dream!

 

[keanufan68plus1]

Hilarious

 

[sepheronx]

I seem to recall that the EU was saying this year that they wanted to do a 5nm plant. So I take it they saw that TSMC wanted to do 3nm so they thought "yeah, well, we will do 2nm!" and hence came up with a declaration?

 

[Aquinus]

The EU declares a lot of things.

 

[Renald]

So, basically, they are raising taxes on all EU citizens, to give money to companies to create a market.
It's like giving money to a company for free, nice.

Inject that much money will only make rich people richer, and poor people even more poor than before.

 

[mak1skav]

Gonna bet that all the money will go to some company inside Germany or their little brother Belgium. Most of those schemes are just there so that Germany can have an excuse to collect money from all other countries in E.U.

 

[laszlo]

so they'll invest in ASML most likely.....

 

[keanufan68plus1]

so they'll invest in ASML most likely.....

Doesn’t look like it. Here’s what appears to be the list of projects, I think: https://www.ipcei-me.eu/what-is/project-structure/

Seems to be heavy on German companies and very, very light on Dutch companies.

 

[Vayra86]

That money will be stolen and nothing will be done! I'm from europe, they are all corupt and this kind of scheme is all too well known.

I'm from Europe too, and as member nation we own the key technology to push the cutting edge of lithography machines and are key supplier for TSMC among others.

Europe's big and with a bit of luck we're pushing the truly corrupt states out of the equation. Two of them are currently on a good path to helping themselves out in that sense and one's already gone, after many decades of stalling. What's left will probably still be corrupt, though But you can't catch wolves with sheep.

so they'll invest in ASML most likely.....

No need I think. What we need is the actual fab capacity, not the machinery inside it. And that requires manpower most of all. The technology isn't the issue, the braindrain is. For decades now big tech has been growing in the US, in Asia... but not in Europe. All we thought about was how to start swinging the banhammer at all the things that have evolved in directions we don't like, so we come with stuff like GDPR.

I really hope this agreement is a stepping stone to a broad movement that lasts, and isn't just another engine for the German economy, because it does seem a lot of the recent stuff is directed that way.

I seem to recall that the EU was saying this year that they wanted to do a 5nm plant. So I take it they saw that TSMC wanted to do 3nm so they thought "yeah, well, we will do 2nm!" and hence came up with a declaration?

5 - 3 = 2, the math checks out!

 

[TumbleGeorge]

What we need is the actual fab capacity, not the machinery inside it.

In EU has fabs for chips? CPU's, GPU's, chipsets, fabs for PCB's, for assembling motherboards, for assembling graphic cards? With very large capacity of production? Where, who is?

 

[Renald]

so they'll invest in ASML most likely.....

It's SM only for Europeans We know that for 40 years+ now
It's like Europe is giving money to farmers to produce more, and then get ripped off by huge groups like Lactalis

 

[Space Lynx]

So tax money funding development for private companies who will make all the profit, outsource labor to Asia and increase prices by 20% because "they lost power for 40 minutes".

Kind of my thoughts too... also Finland's universal healthcare system is struggling to stay financially in-tact my friends that live there tell me... and they have had two government resignations due to being unable to fund healthcare... yet they can afford to contribute to this? mmmk....

 

[Mescalamba]

Yeah if only signing declarations would have helped any dreams come true

Here, have 100 likes to feed the poor.